


And Gabi Makes Three

by EmpressCactuar



Series: And Gabi Makes Three [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Childhood, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Probably ooc, awkward dads, character death in ch30 and 34, heavy angst in ch34, homophobia in ch 15, mild homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 41
Words: 104,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21582139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpressCactuar/pseuds/EmpressCactuar
Summary: A series of ficlets, AU where Gabi is a child being raised by her cousin Reiner and his husband Bertholdt.Not in chronological order at all(If you want to read in chronological order, check ch. one summary)
Relationships: Porco Galliard/Pieck, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover
Series: And Gabi Makes Three [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927483
Comments: 71
Kudos: 149





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter here is just a prologue to establish why they have Gabi and how two younger men shortly out of college have their own house lol. It's much more serious and longer than most of the chapters that'll follow. This story is not in chronological order at all and skips around based on what I feel like writing.
> 
> Reiner is 23, Bertholdt is 22

Bertholdt couldn’t help but smile at Reiner while they sat in the hospital waiting room together. Reiner was giddy with excitement and couldn't help but hum to himself and sway back and forth in the chair. His mother, Karina, bore a tired expression, but still seemed to show the telltale signs of excitement despite her fatigue. 

The recent cancer diagnosis had been hard on her; her body weight was way down and the lines on her face had deepened despite Reiner helping to take care of her. But regardless, she couldn't miss the birth of her sister's first child. The whole family was ready to meet the baby. 

“Having trouble sitting still?” Bertholdt joked, but Reiner continued to fidget while he stared at the television in the waiting room. He didn’t care at all about the soap opera that was on, Bertholdt was sure. He just wanted something to look at. 

“Yeah, I’m just excited is all.” Reiner replied. He moved one of his hands to grasp one of Bertholdt’s, then squeezed. He stroked his thumb along the back of Bertholdt’s palm, and his radiant grin was enough to take Bertholdt’s breath away. Karina laughed to herself while she watched her son and his boyfriend. 

“You’re reminding me of how your Aunt Emilia was when you were born.” Karina said, Reiner turning to his mother and raising his brows in acknowledgement. “She couldn’t wait to meet little Reiner. She was a little bouncier though, she was only ten when you were born.” Yes, his aunt had been far more energetic and excited to meet baby Reiner. Karina had groaned and not wanted her baby sister anywhere near after she was exhausted from the delivery. 

“I wonder what the baby is going to be like? I was so disappointed when Aunt Emilia said she wasn’t going to learn anything about the baby. Just ultrasound pictures we can't interpret...” Reiner tapped his fingers along the back of his thigh. “I think she’s having a girl. With black hair.” 

“Really? I thought she might be having a boy, with blonde hair. Maybe looking just like their cousin Reiner.” Bertholdt leaned to the side, resting his head on Reiner’s shoulder. Reiner brought his arm up, holding Bertholdt’s shoulder in his hand. They had been speculating on Reiner’s new baby cousin since his aunt had announced her pregnancy. What would they look like? Would they be a boy, or girl, or neither in the end? Would they take more after Reiner and Karina, or like their father? 

“You just think that because I think the baby isn't going to be getting the Braun family genes. They're gonna look like their daddy.” Reiner teased, pecking Bertholdt on the cheek. Karina let out a chuckle at that. 

“I don’t know, Reiner, I think the baby might be a classic little Braun baby.” Reiner turned to his mother, betrayal on his features. He and her already had the 'classic Braun family' looks, they needed some variety! 

“Braun? Braun family?” Reiner and Karina perked up at that, getting the attention of the hospital staff. “The baby is here, mom and dad are ready for visitors now.” 

Bertholdt and Reiner stood quickly, Reiner reaching out a hand to help his mother up. They made their way with hospital staff to the room, and Reiner nearly knocked down the door on the way in. 

“There’s my favorite aunt and uncle!” Reiner said as he entered, his aunt and uncle turning to look at him. The baby in his Aunt Emilia’s arms had a tiny puff of fluffy black hair, and was wrapped up in a white bundle. Emilia handed the baby to her husband, who promptly handed the child to Reiner. “What’s the baby’s name?” 

“Her name is Gabi Marie Braun... isn't she perfect?” Emilia said tiredly. Reiner sat down and stared at his new baby cousin. He had stars in his eyes as Gabi opened her own, her breathing in and yawning before closing them back again. Bertholdt sat down in the chair next to Reiner, accepting the bundle when Reiner handed her over. Bertholdt cooed at Gabi and poked her tiny nose with his finger. Gabi made a tiny sound at the poke. 

“I told you she’d look like Uncle Oskar. I can see it.” Reiner teased, earning a chuckle from Emilia. Bertholdt stuck his tongue out playfully at Reiner before handing Gabi back to him. “She’s perfect, Aunt Emilia. I'm so happy to finally get to meet her.” 

“I trust her cousin and his boyfriend will be good examples for her?” Emilia teased gently, closing her eyes when her husband handed Gabi back to her. She was obviously exhausted. It had been a few hours since Gabi had actually been born, which gave the hospital staff time to get Gabi cleaned up and Emilia time to recover from the birth before the arrival of her family. 

“I have faith that Bertholdt will be, but I don’t know about Reiner...” Reiner again looked offended, him bringing his hand to his chest and looking at his uncle incredulously. Bertholdt laughed and ran a hand up and down Reiner’s back. 

“You too, Uncle Oskar? Why is everyone picking on me today?” Reiner complained, everyone in the room chuckling at his expense. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes while he chewed the inside of his cheek. 

“Because you aren’t the baby anymore." Oskar replied, Reiner pouting in response. “There, there, Reiner. When we have another in a couple of years, you can tease Gabi because she won't be the baby anymore.” 

“I’ll be way nicer to Gabi than you are to me, at least...” Reiner grumbled. Bertholdt glanced over at Karina when Reiner complained. Karina couldn’t help but give Bertholdt a playful look before looking back to her son. 

  


Reiner had run out the door so fast Bertholdt didn’t even have the chance to ask what was wrong. It was late, and they had been asleep. His eyes had only just started sliding open when he realized Reiner was up and hastily getting dressed, then he was running out the door. By the time he was sitting up in bed, the sound of the car starting had meant Reiner was already long gone. Bertholdt plopped back down and looked at the empty space next to him. 

Bertholdt stood up and dressed himself after a few minutes of wondering where Reiner had gone. At this point his stomach was twisting with worry. He tried calling Reiner’s cell phone a couple of times, but he went to voicemail each time. About an hour after Reiner had left, he got a text message. Bertholdt quickly grabbed his cellphone and opened his messages when the light came on. 

_“Not now. I’ll call you soon.”_

It took another hour for Bertholdt to get the next message from Reiner. 

_“Get a taxi to mom’s house. There’s some cash in my nightstand if you need it.”_

It didn’t take long for the taxi to arrive. The driver cocked an eyebrow at the cobbled-together outfit Bertholdt had thrown on at three in the morning, but Bertholdt didn't care. The living room light was on at Karina’s house, bizarre because she was almost always in bed by ten or so. There was a police car outside, and Bertholdt felt a pit open up in his stomach. 

Bertholdt ran to the door as soon as he handed the wad of bills to the taxi driver, him not even worrying about getting his change. He opened the door and saw Reiner and Karina sitting on Karina’s loveseat. There was a police officer there as well, sitting on the chair next to them. 

Reiner and Karina both looked exhausted, their faces red and tear-streaked. Karina had her head resting on Reiner's shoulder, and he had his arm around her shoulders. He held one of her hands in his free hand and stroked the back of her palm. 

“What’s going on…?” Bertholdt asked, approaching Reiner and Karina. The police officer stood and got out of the chair, him offering the seat he had been sitting in. Bertholdt blinked and sat down, him noticing that Reiner only gave him a tired glance. 

“Sit down a minute, sir. I have some bad news.” Bertholdt obeyed the officer, him staying in his spot and fidgeting with his fingers. Reiner buried his face in his hands, and Karina buried her face into Reiner’s shoulder. “There was a car accident. A drunk driver struck a vehicle, and both passengers died.” 

Karina sobbed harder into Reiner’s arm. “Two people died…?” 

“Their identification identified them as Oskar and Emilia Braun.” The officer ran his hand through his brown hair, him fidgeting with his hat. “The babysitter for their child called the police when they never returned home, and gave us Ms. Braun’s information. She said it was bizarre for them to stop contacting her.” 

“Oskar and Emilia are dead?” Bertholdt asked, the police officer nodding solemnly. “Where’s Gabi?” 

“Their baby is safe, she’s at the police station. We took her when the babysitter had to leave.” The police officer scratched the back of his head. “Mr. Braun will be going to get her shortly.” 

Reiner nodded at that, moving to stand. “Bertholdt. Come with me to get her, please.” He sniffled and wiped at his face. “I can’t drive right now…” 

“Of course, Reiner. Anything you need.” Bertholdt breathed deeply. He couldn’t believe Oskar and Emilia were both gone. He wasn’t close to them the way he was with Karina, but they were still Reiner’s family. They were all friendly. “We’ll be back soon, Karina.” 

“I know.” Karina said, her voice raw. Reiner knelt down and hugged his mother tight before leaving with Bertholdt, him handing the car keys over and getting into the passenger side of the car. Bertholdt got in, starting the car and adjusting the heater. It was July, but also the middle of the night. Reiner was shivering whenever they got into the car. 

“Bertholdt. We need to talk.” God, he hated those words so much. Nothing good ever came after them. Reiner held his forehead in his hand and breathed deeply, his breath shuddering. 

“About what happened...?” Bertholdt said when Reiner was silent for a moment. Reiner nodded wordlessly. 

“I’m going to be taking custody of Gabi. Mom and I talked about it before you got there.” Bertholdt turned and looked seriously at his boyfriend when they got to a red light on the way. 

“Reiner—” 

“Mom can’t do it, not with her so weak from her cancer, and Gabi’s only family is me and mom.” Reiner said, him letting out a sob as he rested against the glass of the window. “I’m the only one… if you don’t want that... if you don't want to have to take care of her, I won’t be mad if you leave...” 

“What?!” Bertholdt asked in horror. It would make sense for Reiner not to be thinking clearly, but even with that in mind his words jarred Bertholdt. “What the hell do you mean by that?” 

“You just graduated college, you’re only twenty-two...” Reiner met Bertholdt’s eyes when he pulled into a parking spot outside the police station. Bertholdt put the car in park, but didn't turn it off yet. “If you don’t want to be stuck with a baby so young, it’s fine, if you want to leave—” 

“Damn it, Reiner! Don’t say things like that!” Bertholdt reached over and squeezed Reiner’s shoulders. Reiner's eyes were still swollen. Bertholdt carefully took a hand and wiped away Reiner's tears. “It’s true… we didn’t talk about kids for a while. But I’ve been your best friend since we were kids and your boyfriend for the past seven years.” Tears started to flow out of Bertholdt’s eyes, him choking out a sob. “I chose you when my parents had their fit about me being gay, why would I decide to walk away from you now?” 

“I just don’t want you to feel burdened, Bertl…” Reiner leaned over and let Bertholdt hold him. “You didn’t sign up for a baby this suddenly, it wasn’t fair for me to decide to take her without you. I wanted you to have a choice in the matter.” 

“You didn’t sign up for any of this, either. I do have a choice, and my choice is to stay with you, Reiner.” He squeezed his arms tighter, Reiner clutching at the fabric of his coat. “Things will work out, I promise...” Bertholdt very gently ran his hand through Reiner's hair in an attempt to comfort him. 

“Bertholdt…” Reiner cried more into Bertholdt’s chest. He wished so badly there was something he could say. Reiner grew up with his Aunt Emilia. He loved his aunt and uncle. He needed support now more than ever. 

“Reiner. I love you.” Bertholdt moved, holding both of Reiner’s cheeks in his hands. He ran his thumb along Reiner’s cheekbone, moving to kiss his temple gently. “It’s going to be okay.” 

He held Reiner for just a bit longer before they got out of the car, going to the police station to collect Gabi. 

  


As it would turn out, logistically it was much easier to say they were going to take in Gabi before the realities of the situation sank in. 

If there was any silver lining, _any silver lining at all,_ it was that they didn’t have to buy any baby stuff for now. Emilia and Oskar had everything they needed and more. Reiner was able to collect all of it once they were able to begin taking care of settling Emilia and Oskar’s affairs. 

Their friends had jumped on the opportunity to help them out as well, once they overheard the situation. Porco and Pieck gave them some of their son Marcel's old things, him now two. And Annie had gone on a shopping spree of her own, gifting outfits that Gabi would grow into on the condition that they send pictures of Gabi in said outfits. 

They had to move out of their apartment, moving from downtown to within five minutes of Karina’s home so Reiner could care for her more easily as her cancer treatment progressed. But it meant leaving behind their established home and paying a bit to break the lease. And it was the first home he and Reiner had together, so of course it hurt to say goodbye. 

In the end Bertholdt had to go crawling back to his parents to beg for money when the costs of moving began piling up. He insisted, much to Reiner’s frustration, that he go deal with his parents by himself. The problems with Reiner had started the moment he came out to his parents and told them they were in a relationship. His mom hadn’t liked it at all. Hell, they cut him off two years ago. He hadn't seen either of his parents since. 

Bertholdt swallowed and stared at the front door to his parent’s home. His house… it was bigger than he remembered it being. His hand shook, but in spite of that Bertholdt brought it to the door and knocked. 

The door opened, a tall and slender woman opening the door. His mother smiled, sweet as honey, her pulling Bertholdt in for a hug. “My Bertholdt, it’s so good to see you! It's been too long, dear...” 

“It’s good to see you too, mom.” Bertholdt said, awkwardly patting his mother on her back. 

“Did you graduate?” Bertholdt bit the inside of his cheek. 

“Yeah, I did, about six months ago…” Bertholdt rubbed the side of his arm. His parents had lots of money, but he was cut off about halfway through college. It had gotten so, _so_ hard during that time. His senior year was easier because Reiner was able to take a job and help support him in the meantime. 

“I’m so glad. You know your father and I are so proud of you.” Bertholdt went inside with his mother. His father was sitting down on a reclining chair; Bertholdt noticed the wheelchair and oxygen tanks next to it. His condition hadn't gotten any better since the last time he'd been home. 

“Hi, dad.” Bertholdt said, waving at him. Bertholdt’s father’s eyes seemed to light up, him smiling wide at Bertholdt. 

“Son, it’s so nice to see you again!” Bertholdt moved to sit on the loveseat next to his father. “I’ve missed you. What made you reach back out?” 

Bertholdt fidgeted with his thumbs nervously. “I graduated college a few months ago, and I have a good job lined up. I’m going to be a librarian at the library in Liberio.” 

“That sounds like you, you always loved reading,” His mother reminisced. Bertholdt’s eyes fell half-shut. He wanted to ask her, _‘But what did I like reading?’_

“But I need to move really soon, and I have to break my lease. The cost to break the lease is a lot, they want two month’s rent. Plus I have to pay for a deposit on my new place, and first month’s rent. It’s going to drain my savings to do it…” 

“Why do you need to move so soon? Did something happen where you can’t just commute to Liberio?” Bertholdt looked down at the floor as his father spoke, both his parents noticing. “Did something happen with Reiner?” 

“I guess you could say that...” Bertholdt started, his mother interjecting before he could elaborate. 

“If you need a place to stay because you broke up, you can stay here with us.” Bertholdt turned to look at his mother, his brow furrowed and a frown setting onto his face. 

“Mom, I’m still seeing Reiner. We’ve been together for seven years.” Her expression dropped quickly. “We need to move into a new house, as soon as possible.” 

“He wants a big house now? Why doesn’t he pay for it himself?” Bertholdt frowned at the ground; there she goes again. Reiner always felt subhuman when he heard the things that Bertholdt's mother had to say. Old money didn't care for having some poor boy around. 

“Mom, Reiner took custody of his cousin. We need to move into a house big enough for her, so we can raise her.” Bertholdt’s father raised a brow up at that. 

“She? What’s her name?” Bertholdt’s father leaned back in his chair, adjusting the oxygen tubes before relaxing again. 

“That doesn’t matter, Luis.” His mother snipped. “Bertholdt, when are you going to stop supporting him? Now he wants you to take care of the rest of his family too? And you want us to fund it?” 

“Gabi’s a _baby,_ mom, she isn’t exactly going to be going out buying up designer bags and clothes!” Bertholdt crossed his arms, his frown turning to a scowl. “Besides, he supported me in college when _you_ cut me off!” 

“I cut you off so you’d stop playing games, Bertholdt! When are you going to leave him and marry a nice girl you can have a _real family_ with instead of taking care of someone else’s kid?” 

“Real family? How can you be so hateful? Karina went to more of my school events than you ever did!” Bertholdt stood up, his mom doing the same. “I love him! I’ve loved him for a long time, and I’m going to be taking care of her whether you like it or not.” 

“How much do you need?” Bertholdt and his mother fell silent when his father spoke. “For the baby, how much do you need?” 

“Luis!” Bertholdt’s mother turned to him, him holding up a finger. 

“Mila. Stop this,” Luis adjusted himself in his chair. “I haven’t seen my boy in two years because I went along with you. I’m not about to let you chase him off again. I'm never going to get to see my only child graduate college. I don't want to miss more...” 

“Dad...” Bertholdt started, Luis bringing a finger up again. 

“I spent my whole life working and saving up money and I missed you growing up. We both missed it. I overheard you call Ms. Braun ‘mom’ on the phone one of the last times we saw you.” Luis started shivering in his chair. “I’ve missed you, and if you insist you’re going to take care of Gabi I want to help you. If I wasn’t a father… I want you to be.” 

“Dad…” Bertholdt wiped at his eyes and looked down at the floor. Mila walked out, turning to look at Luis. 

“We’re going to talk about this later.” Bertholdt heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, then a car starting. 

“What’s Gabi’s name?” Bertholdt rubbed his arm awkwardly and met his father’s gaze. 

“Gabi Marie.” Luis nodded at that. 

“A pretty name, I’d assume for a pretty girl.” 

“She’s a doll, dad. I remember the day she was born, she was so cute when I held her in my arms...” Bertholdt smiled and recalled her grabbing Reiner’s finger, sucking on it when he was playing with her that morning. 

“Bertholdt. I’m sorry. I know that won’t change what all happened.” Luis exhaled heavily. “The biggest regret of my life has been missing out on yours. I should have defended you when Mila took issue with you being gay and going to be with Reiner.” 

“It’s… going to be okay, dad...” Bertholdt ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not saying what happened was okay, but… maybe things will change with time.” 

“Bertholdt. My checkbook is in the study down the hall in the drawer. Please go get it,” Bertholdt did as asked, going and retrieving the checkbook since his father couldn’t move much. “I hope… if things get better, I might get to meet little Gabi one day.” 

  


Reiner held Gabi in his arms, him rocking her back and forth when they finally arrived with the moving truck to their new home. “Look at the house, Gabi.” Gabi blinked and suckled at the pacifier. She was three months old now; her hair was getting thicker, and she was growing like a little weed. "This is our house. Your new home." 

“It’s a lovely home.” Karina said, taking Gabi from Reiner and holding her niece. Reiner went to help Bertholdt open the truck to move all their furniture into their new home. 

Gabi’s room had already been set up, her nursery stuff having been easy to move from Karina’s home. They had stayed there to take care of Gabi while they sorted out getting the house. Karina made her way to the nursery, sitting with her niece while Reiner and Bertholdt worked tirelessly to set up their new home. 

“I think about Oskar and Emilia every day.” Karina said, Gabi yawning at the words while Karina rocked back and forth in the rocking chair. “I miss them. They loved you so much. I wish they were here, that you would get to know your mommy and daddy.” 

Karina couldn’t help but laugh when she heard Reiner swear, complaining about how heavy something was. “But I know you’re in good hands. Bertholdt and Reiner fell in love with you the moment they met you.” Gabi drifted off to sleep, the pacifier falling out of her mouth. Karina caught it and set it aside. 

“Yes. You're in good hands. Reiner and Bertholdt will give you a life you deserve." 


	2. Caught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 5, Reiner is 28, Bertholdt is 27

Gabi groaned in her bed, her turning onto her other side and grimacing. Her belly was really sore, and she couldn’t sleep as a result. Her eyes hung open halfway, and they were getting sore from being tired. Gabi pulled her stuffed pig closer to her chest in an attempt to go back to sleep. 

Reiner had told her not to eat too much, but Bert’s food just tasted so good and he never made macaroni and cheese from scratch! It didn’t matter if Bert made plenty and there were leftovers in the fridge for later, she wanted it then! It tasted so good! 

But now… her belly just hurt really bad. It wasn't hurting from being too full; it had been a couple of hours since she had actually eaten. All Gabi knew was she wanted her tummy to ease up so she could rest. 

She didn’t want to go ask for help, though. Reiner and Bert would say they told her so. “Don’t eat yourself sick,” Bert had said. “Slow down,” Reiner had said. They even took away her plate and fork and scolded her for eating too fast. 

“It huuuuurts…” Gabi moaned to herself. “Pock, it hurts…” 

She kept rolling around in bed, eventually tossing Pock the pig to the side and getting out of bed. Gabi wearily wiped at her eyes and put her slippers on, the slippers shaped like big paws. She frowned for a second before turning back around and picking Pock back up. How could she toss her buddy like that? 

Gabi opened up her door, making her way to the bathroom. Reiner or Bert always got her that icky pink stuff she had to chew on whenever her tummy hurt. She could just get it herself. They always gave her just one, with some water. 

Didn’t they usually open the mirror over the sink? Gabi stepped on the little stepping stool she got on to wash her hands and brush her teeth, her standing on her tip-toes and reaching for the mirror. She quickly pulled it open and checked the inside of the mirror. 

Gabi frowned. The pink stuff was at the very top shelf, where she couldn’t reach. All the medicine was at the top! She couldn’t reach any of it! The only things within reach were some bandaids. She pouted and closed the mirror, rubbing at her tummy again. 

She was out of options if the medicine was all the way at the top… only Reiner and Bert were tall enough to reach it. Even standing on her tippy toes wasn’t enough! 

Gabi turned off the light in the bathroom and looked at Bert and Reiner’s door. Would they be mad at her for waking them up? Oh, wait… there was light coming from underneath the door. If their lamp was on that would mean at least one of them was awake. 

The door was closed, Gabi approaching it slowly. She stopped in her tracks, hearing a voice coming from inside. She leaned closer to the door. 

“God, mmm... I love you, I love you so much...” That sounded like Reiner. But Bert wasn’t saying he loved Reiner back like he usually did. “You like when I fuck you like that?” 

“Yes, yes Reiner! More...” Bert was making sounds like he was in pain? But if he was hurting he would go get medicine like he does when he says his head hurts. “Do it harder, Reiner.” What does that mean? Do what harder? 

Reiner sounded like he laughed when Bert said that. Both of them were making sounds like they were hurting. Maybe they should all get medicine? Gabi reached up and turned the doorknob, pushing open the unlocked door. 

“Hey, my tummy hurts and I need medicine.” Gabi started, pushing the unlocked door ajar. Bert and Reiner stared at her, horrified expressions on their faces. They had a blanket on, but for some reason Reiner was on top of Bert, and Bert was laying down on the bed. Reiner’s arms were around Bert like he was giving him a hug, and Bert's hands were in Reiner's hair. They weren’t wearing their shirts for some reason. “What are you doing?” 

Both of them stared at her, their faces bright red and eyes wide. Reiner glanced down at Bertholdt nervously, Bert looking back up at Reiner. 

“H-hey, Gabi…” Reiner started sheepishly. Gabi blinked at them wordlessly, moving her hand to her belly. “Uh, we’re just giving each other special hugs that adults do when they love each other…” 

“Oh. My tummy hurrrrts…” Gabi whined. Bert looked more nervous than she had seen him before. He fidgeted with Reiner's hair, him unsure of what to say or do. 

“Go wait in the living room and close the door, Gabi.” Bertholdt said after an awkward moment, Gabi looking at the two of them suspiciously before doing as told. She made her way to the couch, sitting down and holding Pock to her chest. She absentmindedly kicked her legs back and forth while she waited. Bert and Reiner sure were acting funny tonight. 

After a minute she heard Bert and Reiner’s door open and close back, both of them in their pajama pants and t-shirts. Bert was scratching behind his neck while the pair made their way into the living room. 

“Gabi.” Reiner said, his arms crossed. He didn’t look mad like he usually did when he crossed his arms. “You know you’re supposed to knock before you open people’s doors. We've talked about that before, remember?” 

“I know.” She responded, looking up at him. “I thought you two were hurting because you were making funny noises. I needed medicine and thought you could get some too.” 

“Gabi. Reiner and I weren’t hurting.” Bertholdt ran his hand along his face. He'd never thought that he and Reiner would've been caught, they were always so careful and mindful of Gabi's sleep schedule. “You could’ve knocked and asked us if we were okay.” 

“I’m sorry, Bert.” Gabi looked down, and when she did Reiner moved to put his hand on her shoulder. “Can I ask you something?” 

“What is it, dear?” Reiner asked, Gabi standing up and moving next to Bertholdt’s leg. 

“What does fuck mean? Did Bert say that you do that?” Bertholdt’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head at that, Reiner’s face turning red all over again in response. 

“Gabi! That’s… the word, the F-word, that’s a grownup word.” Bertholdt started. “Don’t say that. You’ll… you’ll learn about that when you’re older.” 

“Let’s get you your medicine so you can go to sleep.” Reiner went to the bathroom, reaching up and grabbing the medicine that was so far out of reach before. “Bertholdt, can you go get her some water?” Bertholdt nodded and went to the kitchen. Reiner popped one of the pink tablets out of the container, handing it down to Gabi. “Chew on this and swallow it all.” 

“Are you and Bert mad at me?” Gabi asked, taking the pink pill and chewing it. She frowned at the taste. She hated it. Bertholdt came back and handed her the water, her gulping it down quickly. 

“We aren’t mad, Gabi.” Reiner took the glass from her, Bertholdt picking up Gabi’s pig when she left it on the bathroom counter by the sink. “Just knock next time, _please._ ” Reiner picked Gabi up and carried her back to her bedroom, Bert trailing right behind the two of them. 

Bertholdt pulled back the covers, Gabi climbing in and accepting Pock when Bertholdt handed him to her. He pulled the covers back, Reiner running his fingers through her hair. “Thanks, Bert…” 

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Go to sleep, okay? You need rest.” Bertholdt leaned down and kissed her forehead. Reiner ruffled her hair, Gabi closing her eyes and laying on her side. “We love you.” 

“Love you too...” Gabi murmured, her hearing the lamp click off and the door close. Her tummy was feeling better already. 

  
_Eight years later_  


Gabi cut into her pancakes, her getting up and pouring milk into her glass when she finished what she had. Zofia yawned, her having stayed over the night before. Bertholdt was sitting at the table, reading the classified ads from the weekly paper he got. He was cutting the occasional coupon out in the meantime. Reiner was cooking more pancakes for Zofia. 

Suddenly, a memory Gabi had completely forgotten about crossed her mind, her immediately frowning and looking up from her food slowly. Her gaze drifted from her food to Bertholdt, then to Reiner, then back down to her food. 

_They weren’t hugging each other…_

“Are you okay, Gabi?” Zofia asked, shaking her shoulder gently. “Gabi?” Bertholdt looked up from circling something, raising an eyebrow. He adjusted his glasses, Gabi noticing him watching her. Reiner turned around from the stove and raised a brow. 

“O-oh, yeah… Just thinking about something I heard someone say at school…” Gabi laughed nervously. Bertholdt and Reiner exchanged looks, both of them going back to their respective tasks. 

“Don’t believe all the rumors you hear at school, Gabi. Some people can be terrible gossips.” Reiner said, putting the cakes onto a plate and setting them down in front of Zofia. 

“I know, I know...” She responded, keeping her eyes averted. She heard Reiner turn around, him whispering something into Bertholdt’s ear. Bertholdt laughed, then the two of them moved in and kissed. 

She didn’t usually wish she was at school instead of home, but that sounded nice right now. 


	3. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 4, Reiner is 27 in this chapter  
> [Pock the Pig!](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71WyzpFHuiL._SL1500_.jpg)

Gabi held Pock close to her, cuddling him close to her face. It was cold outside, and her feet hurt from walking such a long way. She didn't even know where she was anymore. Where did Bert and Reiner go? Or big Pock and Pieck and Marcel? They were here a few minutes ago. The branches on all the trees were long and creepy, like they were going to reach out and grab her. The path in front of her seemed to stretch out forever. 

It was dark out, but there was a nice looking house at the end of the trail, with lots of light coming from it. There were some people standing outside of it, too. Gabi picked up her pace walking towards it, looking behind herself frequently. She squinted when she got closer to the house. 

That was Bert and Reiner standing outside! They were playing with Marcel, and big Pock and Pieck. Gabi breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her eyes. There were a few tears, but it was okay because Bert and Reiner would wipe them all away for her. 

A branch crunched somewhere behind her. Gabi turned around and saw a wolf growling at her. She backed away slowly, the animal approaching her and baring its fangs. Panicking, she turned around and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She heard the wolf start to chase her, her legs picking up the pace as much as they could. 

Why wasn’t the house getting any closer? Bert and Reiner could make the wolf go away. It felt like the house stayed still forever before it started to get closer. Gabi was panting, but managed to get some distance from the animal making chase. The door of the house opened while she ran towards it; big Pock and Pieck and Marcel all went inside. 

“Bert!” Gabi shouted, Reiner going ahead and going into the house. Bert looked straight at her for a moment, blinking and going inside. He closed the door as Gabi approached, her hearing a lock click on the inside. “Let me in!” She beat her hands against the door, looking behind her and seeing the wolf approaching her quickly. 

Gabi panicked and looked into the window. Bert and Reiner were laughing together, and big Pock was snuggling Marcel. Pieck brought out a plate of cookies. “Let me in!” Gabi cried, hitting the window with her hands. No matter how much she hit and how loud she screamed, everyone inside ignored her. She turned around, her back to the wall, as the wolf caught up to her and pounced. 

Gabi slammed open her eyes and found herself in her bed. It was cold, despite her being wrapped up in all her blankets. She bit her lip and started crying to herself, then tossed Pock off her bed. She frowned when she moved, her noticing she wet the bed. Gabi cried even more, embarrassment setting in. She hadn’t had any accidents recently, too… 

After a few minutes of crying, Gabi heard footsteps outside her door. But then the steps stopped and the shadows stayed still outside her door. The doorknob turned, her door opening and a familiar voice ringing through the air. 

“Gabi?” Reiner asked, him glancing down and seeing Pock on the floor. Reiner picked up the stuffed pig and crossed the room to Gabi, putting him down on her nightstand. She felt Reiner run his hand through her hair. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” 

“Reiner…” Gabi sniffled loudly and whined. “I dreamed you and Bert and big Pock and Pieck let me get eat by a wolf...” Reiner leaned over and held Gabi against his chest, rocking her back and forth. She closed her eyes and grabbed at his torso, him running his hand along her back. Gabi pulled away and looked at him, embarrassed. “I wet the bed…” 

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Reiner got up, going over to her dresser and grabbing her a new pair of underwear and pajamas. He handed them to Gabi, her getting out of bed and going to the bathroom to clean herself. She came back to her bedroom to find Reiner stripping the sheets and blankets off the bed, then the mattress protector. “Pick up the sheets and help me take these to the laundry, dear.” 

“Okay…” Gabi stared down at the ground while she followed Reiner, feeling bad that she wet the bed. She meekly looked up when they got to the laundry room, Reiner taking the sheets from her and putting them in the washing machine. He put down the blankets in a basket, along with the mattress protector. “I’m sorry, Reiner...” 

Reiner reached up and grabbed a new mattress protector and sheets, then carried them to her room. “It’s okay, you can’t help it. Everyone wets the bed when they’re little, Gabi.” 

Gabi looked at Reiner in surprise. “Really? Even you?” 

“Mhmm.” Reiner hummed, him making Gabi’s bed while she clung to his leg. He finished up, him grabbing Gabi’s unicorn blankets from her closet and putting them down. Reiner squatted and leaned close to Gabi. “Even Bert did.” 

“Even Bert?!” Reiner nodded, moving to pull the covers of Gabi’s bed back. Gabi fidgeted with her fingers and looked at him. “Can you hold me?” 

Reiner smiled, his eyes tired. He had just gotten up to get some water and had found her upset. “If that’s what you want.” Reiner stood up and scooped up Gabi, holding her so that she could lean her head against his shoulder. Gabi reached for Pock when Reiner stood. Reiner reached to grab the pig quickly and handed it to her. He carried her to the living room, sitting down into the recliner and leaning back just a little bit. 

“Do you love me?” Gabi mumbled into Reiner’s pajama top. Reiner adjusted himself so that Gabi was nuzzled into his chest, her looking at him with troubled eyes. Reiner moved to run a hand through her hair, the other one rubbing her back. 

“I love you more than you can ever know, my dear.” Reiner said, leaning his head down and kissing Gabi’s forehead. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and smiled at her. 

“You won’t let a wolf get me?” 

“Of course not, and Bert won’t either.” Reiner reached down and reclined the seat back. Gabi smiled wearily and closed her eyes, her breathing evening out after a minute. Reiner leaned back all the way, yawning and turning onto his side. He adjusted so he was holding Gabi against him. “Love you, sweetheart.” 

  


Bertholdt woke up, noticing that Reiner’s side of the bed was empty. “Reiner?” He wiped at his eyes, reaching his hand over. The sheets were cold, so he must’ve gotten up some time ago. He yawned and stretched out his muscles, not noticing any smell of coffee in the air. 

Huh. Weird. Usually when Reiner got up first he’d go ahead and make some coffee, and he’d be able to just get up and get some. No smell of food either. Normally Reiner would cook while he was making the coffee, too. 

“Reiner?” Bertholdt said, a little louder, him standing up and changing from his pajamas into a t-shirt and sweatpants. He opened the door to his bedroom, walking out into the living room. “Hmm? Aww…” Bertholdt grinned and went back to his nightstand, grabbing his cellphone and opening the camera. 

Reiner was laying on his side and holding Gabi to his chest. Gabi’s mouth hung open, some drool getting onto Reiner’s pajama top. Bertholdt snapped a couple of pictures of the two, him moving to grab a throw blanket and cover them up. 

“Guess I’ll make the breakfast this morning.” Bertholdt thought out loud, walking to the kitchen and preparing to make a pot of coffee. 

He’d go ahead and let them sleep until they woke up on their own. He couldn’t bring himself to disturb them. 


	4. Sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 5, Reiner is 28, Bertholdt is 27

Gabi held her chicken tender in her hand, her turning it around and examining it for a moment before tearing into it. Reiner reached over to her, frowning while he picked some of the larger crumbs off her shirt. Gabi scowled at him touching her, then shook her shirt to get the crumbs off. All of the crumbs landed on the floor. The floor Reiner had swept that morning before Gabi was awake. Reiner sighed in defeat while Gabi grinned devilishly at him. 

“I cleaned it!” She said, Reiner screaming internally at the mess on the floor. The internal screaming got louder when Gabi proceeded to scoop her tender into the ketchup on her plate, it dripping onto her light blue shirt. 

“Come on, sweetheart, try and eat over the table so you don’t make a mess.” Reiner said gently, Gabi putting her chicken back on her plate and scooting in about an inch closer to the table. Not enough to make a difference at all, but Reiner really didn’t feel like getting onto her right now. It would be easier to accept his fate and just clean up later. 

He took a napkin and wiped her face, getting the ketchup off of her. Bertholdt finished preparing more chicken tenders, taking them out of the oven and putting them on plates for himself and Reiner. He scooted his seat out, sitting across from Gabi and directly next to Reiner. Gabi looked at Reiner, then to Bertholdt, then back to Reiner. 

“Bert.” Gabi said plainly, Bertholdt raising his eyebrows at her. 

“Yes?” Bertholdt and Reiner split a small saucer of sauce for their chicken, both of them eating much more neatly than their child. They'd make a neat eater out of her yet. 

“Do you love Reiner a whole lot?” Bertholdt and Reiner exchanged confused glances with one another before they both looked back at her. 

“Yes, I love him very, very much. How come?” Gabi turned to look at Reiner. Bertholdt gave Reiner a somewhat concerned glance. 

“Do you love Bert a whole lot too?” 

“Of course. We’re married, Gabi. Do you think we don’t love each other?” Reiner squeezed Bertholdt’s leg under the table. 

“No. I thought you did.” Gabi chewed into her chicken tender again, Bertholdt watching fondly as she tore into it. She grabbed at her juice, drinking it eagerly. 

Everything she did was adorable, he thought. Even when she not-so-neatly ripped into the chicken strip like a little monster. 

“Can you two go make me a sister?” Reiner immediately started coughing, starting to choke on the juice he had been drinking. 

“Reiner! Are you okay?” Bertholdt asked, giving him a slap on the back as Reiner coughed. Gabi looked worried for a moment, but that feeling faded quickly when it was clear Reiner was going to be okay. 

“What?” Reiner got out after a moment. His face was red and his throat was burning where the juice started to go down the wrong way. He could feel some tears prickling at the corner of his eyes buttried to compose himself. 

“Can you and Bert go make me a sister?” Reiner’s mouth hung open for a moment, Bertholdt looking at Gabi in surprise. 

“Gabi… where do you think babies come from?” Bertholdt asked, some hesitation in his voice. He didn’t think they’d be having that talk for at least another year or two… 

“I asked Aunt Karina where babies come from and she said was when two grownups love each other they make one!” Gabi took another bite, finishing her tender. Once she was done, she loudly slapped her palms down on the table in excitement. “So if you love each other and you’re grownups I want a sister!” 

Reiner picked at his goatee nervously. Maybe his mom could have been just a _tad_ more specific there. “We can’t make you a sister, sweetheart.” Gabi frowned at him. 

“Why not?” There was that pout he and Bertholdt both saw coming. How cute she was when she was angry. Too bad an angry Gabi was like a stick of dynamite. 

“Well… it’s true that two grownups make babies, but me and Bert can’t.” Reiner started, Gabi’s eyes boring holes into his very soul. “Neither of us can have babies.” 

“But I want a sisterrrr...” Gabi whined. “Why not?” 

“Do you remember when you asked about boys and girls, and we told you that different people have different private parts?” Bertholdt started, Reiner getting up to get himself more juice. He poured a little more for Gabi too. 

“Yeah.” 

“Well, we don’t have the parts you need to have a baby. People with vaginas have a special nest in their tummy the baby grows in. But since we don’t have vaginas I don’t have the nest and Reiner doesn’t either. So there’s no place for a baby to come from, and we can't have one.” 

“But… I want a sister...” Gabi said, looking down at her remaining half-eaten strip. “So I can’t ever have a sister?” 

“Just because we can’t make a baby together doesn’t mean you can’t ever get a brother or sister.” Reiner started, putting the glass of apple juice in front of her. “Why do you want one all of a sudden? Marcel is sort of like having a brother that lives somewhere else...” 

“I dunno. It sounded fun. But Marcel is mean and stupid! He put a caterpillar in my hair! A sister would be better.” 

“Maybe someday, sweetie. But guess what?” Reiner leaned in close to Gabi, motioning for her to come close like he was telling a secret. “As long as you don’t have a brother or sister you don’t have to share me and Bert with them.” 

“That’s right. You get me and Reiner all to yourself.” Bert added. Gabi smiled at that. 

“I don’t wanna share you.” Gabi looked like she was thinking hard for a second. “Would I have to share my toys too?” 

“Of course you would.” Reiner said as though it were obvious. Then he watched her expression fall. 

A frown. “Oh… can you wait until I’m done with my toys, then? I don’t want to share them.” 

Bertholdt couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “We’ll think about it. Don’t worry about a brother or sister for now. You can just play with Marcel.” 

Gabi scooped her tender in the ketchup again, more of it dribbling off onto her shirt. Bertholdt noticed Reiner wince as more ketchup stained her shirt. Convincing Gabi she didn’t need a sister right now was going to be way easier than getting her to eat without making a mess. 


	5. Struggle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is about 6 months

They weren’t ready for this. They really, _really_ weren’t ready. The harsh realities of unplanned parenthood were crushing them, and as much as Reiner and Bertholdt both loved Gabi it was a living hell much of the time. 

Their income was sliced in half since Reiner had to quit his job to take care of both Gabi and Karina. And it was stressing Bertholdt out more than he thought it would. He wasn't exactly the richest guy around, being a newly hired librarian. Every now and then his father would send money, but he had to do it carefully and behind his mother's back. 

He shouldn’t resent Reiner for not working. He worked so hard for them; cooking food for them and Karina, making all of Gabi’s bottles, preparing Karina’s medication, changing almost all the dirty diapers, soothing Gabi's crying, keeping track of her milestones, dealing with Karina’s health insurance. But some ugly part of him got so frustrated when every two weeks only one paycheck deposited into the bank account. 

Bertholdt ran his hand through his hair, his hands tight on the steering wheel while he made an effort to decompress from a long day at work. Reiner was still at Karina’s house with her and Gabi; he’d go to Karina’s, pick them up, and take them both home. 

How long had it been now? About four months? So much had changed already. His parents filed for divorce and were in the process of separating. Reiner quit his job. Gabi was growing like a weed. Karina was becoming weaker as her cancer treatment progressed. 

It felt like the world was swallowing them whole. Paying for the mortgage, Gabi’s frequent doctor visits as she grew, groceries, health insurance, and everything else on his income alone had them stretched terribly thin. 

When Reiner’s birthday came around and Porco and Pieck asked what he had wanted, he told them clothes for Gabi. Bertholdt knew that six months ago around the time Gabi was born Reiner had been going on about how a new expansion for that game he played with Annie was coming out, and that it’d be the perfect birthday present. 

Priorities change, he supposed. Reiner didn’t have time to play it anymore anyways. Sometimes when Reiner had some down time he would want to snuggle and watch TV but only things he didn't have to think too much about. 

His relationship with Reiner was suffering, too. Not in the sense that they were going to break up, but he felt lonely despite seeing Reiner every day. They hadn’t had sex in three months. Usually Reiner was too tired, but on those days when he _was_ able to get himself going, _he_ was too tired from working extra hours to get extra money. 

Reiner was snippier, and closed himself off. He used to talk about his feelings, but now it was a stream of “I’m fine” and “I’ll take care of it” and “It doesn’t matter.” 

Bertholdt rubbed his temples when he pulled into the driveway at Karina’s house. It was starting to get dark outside now, the daylight dying earlier now that the end of the year was upon them. He shut off the car and approached the door, finding it unlocked. The smell of food wafted through the air and Bertholdt found himself drawn to the kitchen. 

“Oh, hello, dear.” Karina said weakly, her eyes sunken and weary. Bertholdt crossed the room and rubbed his hand along Karina’s shoulder. The highchair Gabi sat in was there, but Reiner and Gabi were both missing. “Reiner didn’t eat again today...” Karina said absentmindedly, picking at the baked ziti that Reiner had made. 

“Again?” Bertholdt ran a hand down his face. Reiner hadn’t been eating much as of late, and Bertholdt found himself concerned about the weight loss. It wasn't because there wasn't anything to eat; Reiner made sure to keep his family fed. 

“I made him a plate and he said thank you. But a few hours later I saw it still on the table with just a couple of bites taken out.” Karina shook her head and looked down at the table. “I feel like I’m burdening him.” 

“Don’t talk like that, Karina. He takes care of you because he loves you.” Bertholdt looked around. “Where is he? With Gabi?” He hadn’t heard either of them. 

“He’s with her in the room down the hall. He’s been having some trouble with her, but when I offered to help him he told me to leave him and go rest.” Karina took a bite of the food. “I don’t think he realizes he needs rest, too.” 

“Give me a few minutes to talk to him.” Bertholdt said, standing and moving to go down the hallway. It didn’t take long to hear the familiar screams, Bertholdt approaching the door to the guest room and opening it up. 

Reiner was sitting in a rocking chair and had Gabi in his arms, her wrapped up and screaming. He’d never tell Reiner, but he looked awful. Dark circles under his eyes, distressed expression on his face, his newly grown beard scraggly. Reiner’s hair looked like he had been running his hands through it nonstop. “Please stop crying, _please..._ ” Reiner seemed to beg, but Gabi kept on wailing. 

“Reiner?” Bertholdt crossed the room, and Reiner looked up from Gabi. It almost looked like there were dried tear streaks on his face. Bertholdt reached a hand out and stroked his boyfriend's cheek. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah… just a little tired is all...” Reiner lied, a nervous laugh coming from him. Bertholdt frowned, sitting down on the edge of the bed in the guest room. “I can’t get her to calm down…” 

“Why won’t you let Karina help?” Bertholdt asked, motioning for Reiner to hand Gabi to him. Reiner tried rocking Gabi a few more times, the crying persisting. An absolutely defeated expression crossed Reiner’s face when he handed Gabi over, Bertholdt cradling her and rocking her back and forth. 

“Mom is sick, Bertholdt. I need to do this so she can rest and get better.” Reiner held his forehead in his hand, gritting his teeth. “She hasn’t been doing well, I need to take care of her.” Gabi screamed particularly loud, and Reiner looked like he was about to break. 

“Here, you sit here in quiet and I’ll take her away for a minute.” Bertholdt said, standing up and taking Gabi away. Reiner started to protest, but Bertholdt shot Reiner a look that ordered him to stay put. Reiner got up from the rocking chair and moved to lay back on the bed. He took Gabi to the bathroom furthest down the hall where Karina and Reiner wouldn’t hear her. 

Bertholdt rocked her steadily, cooing at her gently. After a minute Bertholdt noticed her crying was softening, her eventually stopping and yawning. She closed her eyes, drifting off into a sleep. Satisfied, Bertholdt carried her back, returning to Reiner. 

Looks like Reiner being stressed out was stressing Gabi out. 

He really, _really_ thought Reiner would be happy and relieved to see Gabi asleep. Instead his eyes welled up full of tears, him breaking down and crying. Karina must have heard, because she came down the hall quickly and took Gabi away while Bertholdt went inside to be with Reiner. “Why am I such a bad parent?” Reiner sobbed. “I spend all day every day with her and she never stops crying, then you come in and she does what you want.” 

“Reiner, calm down.” Bertholdt started, Reiner ignoring the suggestion. Bertholdt exhaled heavily and shook his head. 

“There are too many doctor’s appointments, I fight with her insurance every time she needs to see the pediatrician, she needs to eat more but she never wants to take a bottle from me and I have to get mom to help even though she needs rest.” 

“ _You_ need rest, Reiner, you’re working yourself too hard.” Bertholdt said firmly, grabbing at Reiner’s shoulders. He squeezed, then noticed just how tense Reiner was. “You need to take care of yourself.” 

“I don’t need to worry about myself when they need me.” Reiner protested, Bertholdt becoming frustrated with Reiner’s stubbornness. “I can’t even keep you from needing to help, you work all day and then have to come home and take care of her too.” 

“Reiner. Stop this, _now._ ” Bertholdt said lowly, Reiner’s mouth snapping shut at the tone. “You’re letting yourself fall apart.” Bertholdt patted the bed next to him, motioning for Reiner to move to sit next to him. “And you keep pushing away everyone trying to help you.” 

“You work so hard at your job and I’m staying home, it isn’t fair to you.” Reiner breathed, running his hands through his hair. 

“I’m her parent now too, Reiner.” Bertholdt said. “That means I help. You’re not slacking off because you quit your job.” Bertholdt moved Reiner and pulled him in for a hug, Reiner's body slack against his chest. He had lost quite a bit of weight, and Bertholdt noticed it especially when the weight of Reiner against him just didn't feel the same. How long had it been since the last time they just snuggled? “You not getting paid doesn’t mean you’re not working. You take care of your family, and I’m proud of you.” 

He really was. Those resentful feelings about pay almost always ran away when he saw Gabi growing up healthy. 

Reiner didn’t respond, so Bertholdt put his head on Reiner’s shoulder and held him close. “I’m sorry, Bertl…” 

“You aren’t giving Karina and I enough credit. She raised you, and she wants to help. The cancer hasn’t made her completely helpless. And I’m going to do better too. I shouldn’t have let you get to this point…” He shouldn’t have. He should’ve stepped in and had this talk with Reiner a long time ago before it got to this point. 

Reiner shivered against Bertholdt. His body started shaking, then a sob coming out. “I miss Aunt Emilia and Uncle Oskar.” Bertholdt closed his eyes and let Reiner cry, holding him steady. 

“I know. I’m so sorry, Reiner.” Bertholdt mumbled to his boyfriend. He closed his eyes and just held Reiner. Reiner cried for a bit, eventually slowing down and stopping. “Are you okay?” 

“…I will be.” Reiner sniffled and buried his face in the crook of Bertholdt’s shoulder. He looked at Bertholdt with immensely guilty eyes. “I’m not ready to be a parent, Bertholdt.” 

Bertholdt was quiet. “I don’t think either one of us is, Reiner.” Bertholdt stood up and reached out a hand to help Reiner stand. “But… we have her now. All we can do is our best,” Reiner wiped at his face, his skin still puffy and red. “We love her, we can figure out the rest.” 

“I know.” Reiner walked to the door, opening it up and walking out with Bertholdt behind him. “I do love her, I love her more than I thought I could love anything.” 

“Let’s go get you something to eat. You need it.” Bertholdt said, the two of them walking to the kitchen. Gabi was sitting in her highchair, her face a mess. Karina had mashed up a small amount of banana, and Gabi had smeared it all over while she tried to eat. 

“I think she’s teething.” Karina said, picking at her dinner while trying to feed Gabi. “She’s drooling a lot, and her gums are swollen.” 

Reiner sat down at the table next to Gabi, reaching up and running a thumb along her cheek. “Already time to get her first tooth?” Reiner almost looked melancholy, Bertholdt noticed as he fixed Reiner a plate. “She’s growing up so fast...” It was cliché. But he was right. 

“Soon she’ll be walking and talking, then she’ll be talking back to you like she knows everything in the world.” Karina teased, Reiner smiling tiredly at his mother. 

“Come on, mom...” Reiner said, accepting the food from Bertholdt and taking a bite. “I don’t need to think about her growing up to be a smartass like Bertl.” 

Bertholdt snickered to himself at that, then took a bite out of the casserole Reiner had made. Baked ziti was always a treat, easily one of his favorite things that Reiner would make. 

“It’s true, though. I feel like just yesterday itty bitty Reiner was toddling around the house. Then before I knew it you told me about this new friend Bert you met at camp, and wouldn’t stop talking about him.” 

“Hehe, you had a crush on me? That’s embarrassing.” Bertholdt joked, Reiner looking at him with an eyebrow raised. 

“We’ve been dating for almost eight years…” 

“Yeah…” Bertholdt agreed, pleased when he saw Reiner was eating his food. 

Gabi started smacking her hands against the tray on her high chair, some of the banana thoroughly mashed and smeared across it. She giggled and smiled, her enjoying all the attention she was getting. 

Bertholdt packed up two servings of the ziti for himself; Reiner stayed at Karina’s during the day, so he would just eat there. But now he had plenty of food for work tomorrow. They bid Karina farewell, heading for home. 

Reiner immediately put Gabi to bed, Bertholdt accompanying him and watching her snooze once she was in her crib. Reiner leaned over and rested his head against Bertholdt’s shoulder. Bertholdt couldn’t help but put a hand into her crib, rubbing his hand along her tummy. 

The two of them retired to their room, then threw on their pajamas. Reiner went into the bathroom attached to their bedroom and looked at himself in the mirror. “I look like a bum, I need to get rid of all this hair...” He reached for his razor, running his hand along his face. 

Bertholdt walked behind him into the bathroom, looking at Reiner’s reflection in the mirror next to his own reflection. “I think you’d look really good with a beard, Reiner.” Reiner looked like he didn't quite believe him. He absentmindedly ran his hand along the hair. “You just need to trim it a little and shave to even it out.” 

“Okay, give me a few minutes…” Reiner shooed Bertholdt out of the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later with a newly maintained beard. Bertholdt swallowed at the sight; he did look good with a beard. 

“You look so handsome like that.” Bertholdt said, Reiner chuckling dryly. 

“Besides the eye bags and greasy hair?” Bertholdt wanted to frown at Reiner’s self-deprecation but they’d already had one heart-to-heart today. 

“You’re always handsome to me.” Bertholdt said, getting under the covers. He waited until Reiner slid inside to turn off the lamp, leaning forward and pecking his lips. “I love you.” 

“I love you too, Bertl.” Reiner yawned, nuzzling into his pillow. “I’ll see you in the morning, love.” 

Bertholdt hummed in acknowledgement, turning to lay on his back, while Reiner turned onto his side. 

He wasn’t sure how long he laid with his eyes closed before he heard movement, then felt Reiner scooting closer to him in bed. “Bertl? Are you awake?” Bertholdt opened his eyes and looked tiredly at Reiner. He raised his eyebrows, silently confirming his being awake. 

Reiner scooted up directly to him, using a hand to turn Bertholdt’s face towards his own. He kissed Bertholdt, then pulled away for a moment before kissing him again. Bertholdt closed his eyes and kissed back, turning onto his side and resting a hand on Reiner’s hip. One of Reiner’s hands moved up, unbuttoning the top of Bertholdt’s pajama top. 

It was all Bertholdt could hope that he would only be hearing Reiner and nothing over the baby monitor. 


	6. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 13, Marcel is 15, Reiner is 36, Bertholdt and Porco are 35

Gabi sighed and adjusted her backpack, Marcel smacking her back and giving her a laugh that truthfully she didn't find appropriate. Gabi frowned at him, Marcel none the wiser. “Do you think they’re going to be mad?” Gabi asked, panicking internally. 

“I don’t think they’re going to be mad, I _know_ they’re going to be mad.” Marcel said matter-of-factly. “I know ‘cause I know my mom would get mad and if she would, Reiner and Bertl definitely will.” A sigh from Gabi as she pondered her impending fate. 

“Gee, thanks, Marcel...” Gabi said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. The letter sent home from school was in her backpack. She had to get it signed by one of her parents and take it back to school, along with them scheduling a meeting with the principal. “Why am I the only one in trouble?” 

“Oh, you aren’t. Falco and Zofia both got letters sent home too, they just talked to you all separately.” It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. How were they supposed to know that their prank would result in the school paying ridiculous amounts of money to replace things? They were supposed to find all the fish the first day they hid them in the school! Apparently the pungent odor of the rotting fish permeated into fabrics throughout the school. “Glad I was out to see the orthodontist when you guys did that or I’d be toast too.” 

The two of them made their way to Marcel’s house and found his father outside working on the truck in the driveway. Porco saw the two of them approaching, him grinning at them. “Hey, son. Hey, Gabi.” 

“Hi, Pock...” Porco’s eyebrow twitched slightly, but Gabi didn’t seem to notice. “I gotta go home, sorry…” 

“Gabi’s in trooublleeee~” Marcel teased her, Porco crossing his arms at his son's teasing. He turned to Gabi and gave her a sympathetic look. 

“Really? It can’t be that bad, Reiner and Bertholdt aren’t too hard on you.” Porco said to Gabi, her rubbing her arm and looking at the ground. "Come on, kiddo. Chin up." Porco pat Gabi's shoulder. 

“Mom would be mad, dad. She caused a lot of damage to school property.” Porco’s eyebrows rose at Marcel’s words. 

“…Oh. I’ll pray for you, Gabi.” She nodded and continued her walk home, her house a few blocks away from the Galliard’s. How long ago had it been since they moved to the neighborhood? About five years? 

Gabi opened the front door to her house, her seeing Reiner and Bertholdt snuggled together on the couch underneath a blanket. They had a book full of pictures between them, and had been looking through it together. They both had smiles and blushes on their faces, and Gabi couldn't be more disgusted. 

“There’s our sweetheart.” Bertholdt said fondly, Gabi blushing at his words. “How was school today?” 

“Oh, you know, same as usual...” Gabi said nervously, Reiner and Bertholdt looking at her with worry in their eyes. She didn’t even realize how skittish she looked to them. 

“Is everything okay?” Reiner asked, closing the scrapbook and putting it down on the coffee table. Bertholdt and Reiner both straightened up and looked at her with concern. Gabi felt her stomach doing flips. She swallowed, her silence worrying them. “Did someone do something at school?” 

Reiner stood up first, Bertholdt following suit. They both made their way over to her. 

Why was she so scared? Gabi wordlessly reached into her backpack and grabbed the letter and handed it to Bertholdt. He scanned the front of the envelope, rolling his eyes at the “Mr. and Mrs. Braun” written on the front of it. 

“You’d think they’d know not to write that anymore. I swear...” Bertholdt said, Reiner watching him open the letter. Gabi stepped back as Bertholdt unfolded the letter, his eyes moving back and forth as he read the words on the paper. She could tell the exact moment that Bertholdt got angry, his eyes closing halfway and glazing over. 

Bertholdt handed the letter to Reiner, then turned and walked into the kitchen without a word. That was scary. She’d almost rather Bertholdt just start yelling at her. Reiner frowned when he read the letter, looking at Gabi with anger in his eyes. 

“Gabi Marie Braun! What on Earth were you thinking?!” Reiner asked, putting his hands on his hips. Gabi winced at her middle name. He must really be upset. “We raised you better than that! What if someone was allergic to fish? What if it got someone sick? Rotting fish at school could cause all sorts of health problems! You could've made someone really, really sick!” 

“I’m sorry, Reiner…” Gabi said, looking down at the floor. 

“You know better than that! You’re a smart girl!” Reiner started pacing back and forth, his arms crossed. “Couldn’t you just do something harmless for a prank?! And how the hell did the amount in damages get that high? Do they want me and Bertholdt to pay for all of it?” 

Bertholdt walked wordlessly into the room. Reiner stopped rambling angrily, his attention focused on his husband. “Gabi.” 

“Y-Yes…?” She couldn’t help but stutter in fear. Bertholdt was scarier when he was angry. She really would just prefer Reiner chewing her out. 

“Get your homework. Porco is coming to get you.” He sounded so monotone and Gabi just wanted him to start yelling at her. 

The _very few_ times she had overheard Bertholdt and Reiner arguing with one another when they thought she was asleep, Bertholdt sounded pretty much how Reiner does now. Monotone was seriously weird. 

“Bertholdt?” Reiner asked, his attention no longer on Gabi. 

“You’re just going over to the Galliard’s for a little while so Reiner and I talk about this.” Bertholdt looked at Reiner, Reiner nodding and looking at Gabi again. 

“Gabi. I’m so disappointed in you... You knew better than that.” Gabi bit her lower lip at Reiner’s words. That hurt more than he probably realized. 

As if on cue, Bertholdt saw the old-school sports car pull up to the driveway, heading outside. Reiner shook his head, holding it in his hand. 

“Reiner… I, I’m sorry, we just thought it’d be funny, it was supposed to be different, they were supposed to find all of them the first day and be surprised to find the fish...” Reiner didn’t say anything back, but the disappointment in his eyes was profound. Gabi fidgeted with her fingers nervously “Do you still love me?” 

Reiner sighed at that, meeting Gabi’s eyes. “Of course I still love you. But you’re thirteen now, Gabi.” Reiner put a hand on her shoulder. “You have to start thinking things through. Bertholdt and I aren’t always going to be able to defend you, especially when you’re doing the wrong thing and we _can’t_ defend you.” 

“…I’m sorry.” Bertholdt came back in silently, glancing down at the two of them. Reiner stood back up and turned to him. 

“Isn’t that right, Bertl? You still love her.” Bertholdt sighed and reached a hand down to rub her shoulder. 

“I love you more than life itself, Gabi. You’re my sweetheart. I’m never going to stop loving you.” Bertholdt picked Gabi’s backpack up and handed it to her. “I’m just upset and disappointed.” 

“We’re going to talk more about this when you come home later, Gabi.” Reiner said. He turned when he heard Porco coming to the door from outside. Porco opened the door and gave Gabi a sympathetic smile, then nodded to Bertholdt and Reiner. 

“Let’s go, Gabi. Marcel wants a cheeseburger, so let’s go grab some food. My treat.” 

“Okay…” She looked sadly up at Bertholdt and Reiner, their faces both troubled. 

“We love you, Gabi,” Reiner said, Bertholdt nodding as the door closed. 

Porco got into his car, the roof of his car down. It was nice out today. Why leave it on? Porco sighed and stretched his arm across the seat, putting a hand on Gabi’s shoulder. 

“That went better than I thought it would. Bertholdt seemed calm when he talked to me on the phone.” Porco said, starting the car. Gabi sighed stared at the floor of the car. 

“Oh my god! What the fuck, Reiner?! What the hell was she thinking?! Does the school expect us to pay all these damages?!” Porco recoiled, putting the car in drive and leaving immediately. Bertholdt had to be shouting pretty loud for them to hear it from the car. He must’ve thought they had already pulled out. 

“…Maybe not.” Porco exhaled heavily, him driving past his house and taking her on a drive. “Gabi. I was a troublemaker in school, I did stuff way worse than what you did. I even got arrested a couple of times.” 

“Really?” Gabi stopped staring at the floor and turned to look at Porco. 

“It’ll be okay. My folks used to get super pissed at me, they’d yell sometimes, but in the end it was always okay.” One of his elbows hung out the side of his car. “After my brother Marcel died they were a lot harder on me. He was always the good kid. And I was acting out a lot after we lost him. Any attention was good, even if they were mad.” 

“Oh…” Gabi wasn’t really sure what to say. Porco turned to look at her. 

“Sorry, I was just thinking. What I was trying to say is Reiner and Bertholdt might be really mad right now. But they’ll get over it and eventually they’re going to forget all about this.” 

“You think so?” 

“They think you hung the damn moon, kiddo.” Porco laughed and pulled up to the drive-thru window of the restaurant. He ordered three cokes and three cheeseburger meals. Pieck wouldn’t be home from work for a while so she wouldn’t want food ordered for her now. “I remember getting tired of listening to them chatter about you. They would send tons of pictures of you every day.” 

“Didn’t you and Pieck do the same to them with Marcel though?” Gabi asked, Porco blushing at what he knew to be the truth. 

“That’s not the point...” Porco reached into the bag and ate some fries. “You’re going to be fine. I doubt they’ll be mad for more than a day or two. You’ll get home from school tomorrow and they’ll be back to being their usual embarrassing dad selves. I know they can’t stay mad at you.” 

“How can you be sure, though?” Gabi asked, sipping on her coke. Porco pulled into his driveway, opening the garage and pulling all the way forward. “I haven’t seen Bert that mad in a long time.” 

“They’ve gotten over a lot worse. Like that time you threw all their mortgage documents in the shredder when you got mad at them. I think you were six then?” Porco grabbed more fries and nibbled on them. “I don’t think I’ll ever see either one of them more pissed off again. If they can get over that they’ll get over some dumbass fish prank.” 

“You know about that?” Gabi asked, Porco taking a drink of his coke. He shut the car off and opened his door, Gabi following his lead and the two of them getting out. 

“Yeah, Marcel told me when I asked after you left.” Porco opened the door to the house, Gabi going in and finding Marcel watching TV in the living room. “Hey, Marcel, come get your food.” 

Marcel took the food and went back to his game, nodding to acknowledge Gabi’s existence. She and Porco went back to the living room, Marcel joining them after he saved his game. 

“That fish prank is child’s play, anyways. I bet it didn’t even take long to plan.” Porco smiled fondly at memories of getting into trouble. “Pieck and Bertholdt were goody two-shoes in high school and Reiner wasn’t too far off. It was like pulling teeth to get him to help me out with shit.” 

“Reiner would do things like that with you?” Gabi ask incredulously. Marcel looked at his father with the same reaction. “I don’t believe you.” 

“He did until that night we got caught by the police and his mom had to pick him up from the police station.” Porco laughed, the memory funny now that around twenty years had passed. “He never helped me with a prank again after that.” 

“What did you do?” Marcel asked, Porco almost worried at how starry-eyed Marcel looked when he asked. The last thing he needed was Marcel idolizing his past foolish behavior. 

“This old tourist attraction closed down and they had a bunch of replica dinosaurs. Reiner and I stole some of the lighter dinosaurs that we could move and put them on the roof of the school.” 

“That’s awesome!” Marcel said, Gabi having difficulty imagining Reiner doing something like that. 

“It was awesome! But then we got busted and they threatened us with trespassing charges. Reiner cried so much that night, he was so scared. And while we were at the station he realized Bertholdt would be pissed about the prank, he was so afraid Bertl was going to break up with him. I think he did for a few days... Reiner wouldn’t talk to me for a couple of months after.” 

“Why is Reiner so upset with me if he did worse than I did?” Gabi felt frustration bubbling up inside her stomach, Porco raising a brow at her while he bit into her burger. 

“I know exactly why he’s upset.” He turned to look at Marcel. “When you have a kid everything just looks different. When I was a teenager I saw how cool it sounded to have dinosaurs on the school roof. As an adult I think of how much it could hurt you to have trespassing charges on your record.” 

“So basically you two got old.” Porco frowned at his son. He wasn't old! 

“No! Well, yes… but now that I’m older I know I was stupid then.” Gabi couldn’t help but wonder what Reiner and Bertholdt were talking about at home. “Look, Gabi. Marcel. I know you guys want to cause trouble. Just don’t do anything too stupid. We worry about you and we only want the best for you.” 

“I’m scared to go home.” Gabi mumbled, Porco wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She closed her eyes and leaned into Porco's body. 

“You’ll be fine. I’ve known them for over twenty-five years. I can tell you exactly what’s going to happen when you go home,” Gabi looked at Porco curiously at that. “Reiner and Bertholdt are going to sit you down. Bertholdt is going to be more of a hardass about it, Reiner is going to be easier on you. They’ll tell you why what you did was wrong, then they’ll tell you not to do it again. They might take something away for a few days, might not. That’s a toss-up. If they do, Reiner's going to be the one to do it.” 

“Why is Bert so mad? Usually Reiner is harder on me…” 

“Bertl’s always been funny about school. More than Pieck. He never cared for pranks like that. Bertl's not going to do anything. The worst thing that could possibly happen to you is Reiner will take away your phone for a couple of days. Try and relax.” 

“Glad to hear that, I guess. I just feel bad.” Porco sighed and chuckled at that. 

“Well, let’s make you feel better before you go home then. I know Bertholdt told me to make you do your homework, but that’s not what you need right now.” He got up and grabbed a couple of controllers for his old game console hooked up to the TV. “Let’s play some Mario Party.” 

“That’s a kid’s game, dad…” Marcel complained, still taking the controller when it was offered to him. 

“Oh, you’re just afraid of losing to your old man? Or worse… to Gabi?” Marcel frowned, Gabi laughed. 

“No! I can beat both of you, easy!” 

“Then prove it.” Gabi challenged. 

Porco leaned back into his couch and listened to his son and Gabi go back and forth. They weren’t uptight about the rules like Pieck and Bertholdt were in school. But they weren’t as reckless as he was as a kid. That was probably for the best. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Porco's son Marcel is supposed to look pretty much just like manga Marcel does, but with Pieck's eyes


	7. Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is just-turned three, Reiner is 26, Bertholdt is 25

Karina gently brushed Gabi’s hair, making sure it looked proper as she tied it up into that half-ponytail she liked wearing it in. Gabi had recently turned three, and was growing up into a very, _ahem,_ opinionated young lady. Luis watched Karina comb her hair, affection stirring in his chest at the girl. 

“Remember what you’re supposed to do, Gabi?” Karina asked, adjusting Gabi’s dress; it was an adorable white dress with a purple sash, a heart-shape cut into the back of the dress and a large purple flower on the sash. Gabi turned around and looked up at her aunt. 

“Throw the flowers!” Gabi said, reaching into her basket and grabbing and handful of flower petals. She threw the flowers at Luis, him laughing and brushing the petals off his wheelchair. Karina shook her head gently, getting Gabi’s attention again. 

“No, don’t throw them, you grab a few like this…” Karina grabbed a small amount of petals from the basket. “Then toss them like this,” Karina gently tossed the petals in her hand in a way that made them flutter to the ground softly. Gabi mimicked the motion, the petals fluttering to the floor. “That’s right, sweetie,” 

“Where’s the ring bearer?” Luis breathed. He hadn’t been involved much in the wedding planning like Karina had been. He was paying for alienating his son even years after he and Bertholdt reconnected. Maybe he deserved it. He probably did. But he got the opportunity to be here, which was more than could be said of his ex-wife, he supposed. 

“He’s with his dad, I think. His dad is Reiner’s best man, so he’s probably with Reiner,” Karina said, looking at Luis. They never had much of a relationship. She remembered Bertholdt being cut off, she remembered Bertholdt avoiding conversation about his parents. She remembered Reiner and Bertholdt arguing about him and Gabi, and what sort of relationship they should have. 

“Ah, okay,” Luis said, watching Gabi putter around. 

“I wanna see Bert and Rei-ner…” Karina smiled at Gabi’s pronounciation of her son and soon-to-be son-in-law’s names. 

“You will soon, they’re just finishing getting ready for the wedding,” Karina stood up, bending over to pick up her niece. “It’s almost time, let’s get you to Mr. Galliard so you can get ready to see Bert and Reiner,” 

Karina made her way to Reiner’s room to drop Gabi off with Reiner’s best man. Shortly after a man in a tuxedo with reddish-blonde hair walked by, carrying Gabi. A young boy with black hair followed behind. She had her hands wrapped around his neck. The man nodded at Luis, taking Gabi away. Karina got behind Luis and started pushing the wheelchair. 

“Porco Galliard. Reiner’s best man. They used to have a testy relationship but they’re best friends now. His son is Gabi’s best little buddy,” 

“I’ve missed a lot of Bertholdt’s life, I don’t even know who his best man is,” Karina hummed in acknowledgement. 

“His best woman is Galliard’s wife Pieck, the mother of the ring bearer,” 

They made their way to the location of the ceremony, making sure to get there a little early. Lots of Bertholdt and Reiner’s friends were there. There wasn’t much family on either side; Bertholdt had been disowned by his mother’s family, and Luis was an only child. Karina’s sister had died, that was why they had Gabi in the first place. 

The location was breathtaking, Luis thought. He had given Bertholdt money for the wedding and honeymoon, clearly they put it to good use. The arch was covered in beautiful purple, pink and orange flowers. The afternoon sky was clear, a couple of clouds dotting the background. The estate they had selected to serve as the venue for the reception was covered in beautiful gardens as far as the eye could see. 

They must be living rich and fulfilling lives to have plenty of people that cared about them attend their wedding in spite of their small families. The front rows where family typically sat had a few people sitting there. A blonde woman with a powerful nose, and a black-haired Asian woman holding her hand. A petite blonde woman leaning against a freckled brunette, their hands threaded together. 

“The wedding will start soon, so I’m going to leave you here, okay?” Karina said, adjusting Luis’s wheelchair so that he was sitting where they left a spot open for him. Karina sat on the other side of the aisle. After a few minutes the chairs all filled up, the guests waiting for the wedding to start. 

All of the guests started to stand, Luis turning his wheelchair to the side so he could see. 

The officiant who would be marrying them walked in first, a bald older man with a bushy mustache. He took his place, followed by Reiner and Bertholdt walking in together. They had their arms linked together, both of them nodding at some of the people in the crowd. 

Bertholdt’s tuxedo was a cream color with a white shirt underneath, making the hot pink tie and boutonniere he wore pop. Reiner went with the more traditional option, wearing a black tuxedo with the hot tie and boutonniere still standing out boldly. 

They took their place at the altar, waiting for their man and woman of honor. 

Pieck and Porco walked in behind them, their arms linked the same way Reiner and Bertholdt’s were. Pieck took her place by Bertholdt, Porco by Reiner. 

Marcel and Gabi were supposed to come in together, but Marcel was walking more confidently than Gabi, and more quickly. Marcel took the pillow with the rings on it up to the altar, but Gabi walked very slowly, tossing the flower petals like Karina showed her. 

Gabi noticed everyone was staring at her. And Bert and Reiner were so far away, both of them looking at her. Bert nodded at her, Reiner motioning for her to come to him. She looked around, getting nervous that everyone was looking at her. She walked slowly up a little further, making it about three-quarters of the way up the aisle. 

She threw the basket of petals on the ground, crying as she sat down. She brought her hands up and started wiping at her eyes. The guests watched as Reiner moved quickly down the aisle, scooping her up and holding her to his chest. He pat her back, Gabi clutching at him. Reiner walked back to the altar with her, Bertholdt reaching forward and patting her back. 

Once she calmed down, Reiner handed Gabi to Porco, resting Gabi’s head against his shoulder. She fell asleep during the ceremony, Gabi snoring softly against Porco’s shoulder. 

The priest laughed for a second, opening up his book. “I guess she got nervous. I think we all are. Anyways. We are gathered here today to unite these two, Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover, into the sanctity of marriage…” 

Luis felt his lip trembling. He missed so much of Bertholdt’s life. He barely knew Reiner, but Karina knew his little Bertholdt like the back of her hand. The priest went on with the standard fare. They promised to grow together, love each other, stand together as a team, love their girl, so on and so forth. 

He didn’t think he had ever seen such affection as the way Reiner looked at Bertholdt when he read his vows to Reiner. And Bertholdt shed some tears when Reiner read his. 

“Do you, Reiner, take Bertholdt to be your lawful wedded husband?” 

“I do,” Bertholdt grinned a wide grin and sniffled. 

“Do you, Bertholdt, take Reiner to be your lawful wedded husband?” 

“I do,” Reiner extended his hand and wiped away the stray tears on Bertholdt’s face. 

“Then go forth and live your lives together, fill your hearts with love and let that love touch those around you. Let your lives touch those around you, and may your days together on this earth be numerous and fulfilling. I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss,” 

The crowd clapped and cheered, Bertholdt pulling Reiner in for a kiss that was more intense than Reiner expected; a lot of people in the crown chuckled, the freckled woman in the front giving a wolf whistle. They broke apart, them linking their arms back together and walking back down the aisle. 

Pieck took Marcel’s hand, her and her husband walking down the aisle together in the recessional. Gabi was out like a light, still sleeping on Porco’s shoulder. 

  


“We’re married, Bertl,” Reiner mumbled, ignoring the crowd watching while they had the first dance together. They moved together in sync; they spent a lot of time practicing in the months leading up to the wedding, worried they would look stupid when they tried to dance. 

“I know, isn’t it wonderful?” Bertholdt twirled Reiner, pulling him close again. “You’re my husband. It feels so much better to say than my boyfriend, or my fiancé,” 

“I love you, I always have,” Reiner chuckled to himself, quickly glancing down to make sure his feet were in the right place. “Ever since you helped me up when Porco knocked me over at camp all those years ago, you were like my knight in shining armor,” 

“I love you too. You stayed with me no matter what happened. Even when mom and dad…” 

“Sshh, Bertl, that’s all over now. You have me, and we have Gabi,” Reiner and Bertholdt turned to look in the crowd for her. 

Gabi had woken up and was drinking a juice box, sitting on Luis’s lap. She finished the juice box, tossing it to the side. Luis grabbed another juice box and handed it to her. 

“…He cares about her. I’m… glad,” Reiner said hesitantly. He held Bertholdt tighter to him. 

“I know he hurt you badly too, Reiner… what he did wasn’t okay and I’ll never be able to forget it or forgive it. But thank you for letting him be here,” Bertholdt laughed hollowly against Reiner. “He’s the last family member I have, and…” 

“Hey. You’re my husband now, I’m your family. And Gabi is your daughter, and mom is your mother-in-law. You have us,” The music started to die away, their dance coming to an end. There was some clapping at the conclusion of their dance, Reiner putting a hand on Bertholdt’s shoulder. “Bertl,” 

“Hmm?” 

“My mom is here for the mother-son dance. How about you do a father-daughter dance?” Bertholdt smiled at Reiner, Reiner going to scoop up Gabi from toddling around pestering guests. He packed her over to Bertholdt, handing her to him. “Want to dance with Bert, sweetheart?” 

Gabi held her arms around Bertholdt’s neck when Reiner handed her to him. “Bert!” He kissed her cheek, Gabi putting her hands on his cheeks. Reiner stepped off the dance floor, Bertholdt putting Gabi down on the ground. He took her hands in his, her standing on top of his shoes. 

She couldn’t dance like Reiner could, she was just barely three. Instead he lifted one foot up at a time, moving his hands up and down. After a minute Gabi looked up at him, pulling her hands away and reaching up at him. “Up,” Bertholdt picked her back up, holding her to his chest. “Bert!” 

“Oh darling, I love you,” Bertholdt moved around in circles, him rocking Gabi back and forth in a ‘dance.’ “You’re so adorable,” 

“I love you too,” Gabi said, her hands on his shoulders. “Bert,” 

“Yes, my dear?” He ran a hand up and down her back. 

“I want cake,” Bertholdt laughed at that. 

“Okay, sweetheart, we can cut the cake in just a second,” As soon as the music ended, Bertholdt carried Gabi off the dance floor, handing her to Karina. 

  


Reiner buried his face in his hands. He wasn’t ever, ever, _ever_ going to trust Porco again. Bertholdt laughed nervously next to Reiner, Pieck making that same contented smile she always had. 

What the fuck kind of speech was that? Now _everyone_ knew about the time they had gotten arrested and he cried at the station because he thought Bertholdt would leave him. But clearly he didn’t because they were married now. Was that the point he was trying to make? 

Or that awkward story about when Porco caught him and Bertholdt naked and engaged in _activities_ in the backseat of his mom’s car when they were sixteen and seventeen. All because he just so happened to be staking out for a prank in a place where they thought they were alone. 

That story had to have been told with the explicit intent on embarrassing him and by god, it worked. 

Most of the guests laughed at the story of their friends being dumb teenagers. But Karina was horrified in the audience. He wasn’t looking forward to _that_ conversation later. 

Not that Bertholdt was much better off. Pieck gave a normal congratulatory speech, but she had pictures of their time at their college together that she decided to share. Many of which even Reiner hadn’t ever seen. 

Maybe they could move to far, far north Paradis and become mountain people living in the caves. That’d be preferable. They could teach Gabi to hunt game. It’d be hard, but they would survive. 

It was awkward at the table when the dinners arrived. Reiner just _couldn’t_ meet his mom in the eye. She wasn’t supposed to know about what he and Bertl did all those years ago when they were young and full of teenage hormones. And Luis was trying _so hard_ not to say anything, frustration in his stomach that he had bankrolled foolish behavior on Bertholdt’s part during the first two years of college. 

“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” Reiner whispered into Bertholdt’s ear. Bertholdt nodded in agreement. 

“I’m gonna kill her while you do that,” Bertholdt mumbled. He picked at his food, the food delicious in spite of how awkward he felt. 

“…Reiner,” Karina started to say, him glancing up at his mother. “So when you said you were going to youth group at church,” 

“We are _not_ having this conversation right now, mom,” Reiner said, him distracting himself with his steak dinner. “Nobody is talking about _anything_ that either of them said… or showed,” 

“Let’s talk about Gabi! Who here loves Gabi?” Everyone at the table stared at Bertholdt, his attempt to change the subject more than obvious. “I think we did a great job picking out her little dress…” He took a bite of his steak and looked around the table. 

“Y-yeah! She looks so sweet with the big purple bow on her back…” Reiner added, turning in his seat and watching Gabi running around with Marcel. She had pulled out her hair tie, leaving it down. “I’ve never seen someone so cute…” 

“Everyone thinks their kid is the cutest,” Karina said, chuckling. “When you were two you would run around the house in your diaper while Emilia chased you,” 

“Mom...” Reiner started. 

“When Bertholdt was Gabi’s age I read him _The Princess and the Frog,_ he went outside kissing frogs and cried because none of them ever turned into a prince,” Luis recounted, Bertholdt turning red. 

“Dad, come on…” At least their parents weren’t telling their stories to everyone in attendance. 

  


“You’re so lucky we’re letting you take her,” Reiner grumbled after the reception, holding Gabi’s sleeping form against him. He passed her to Porco, who held her carefully. Gabi started to stir, but quickly returned to her even breaths. “I can’t believe you,” 

Bertholdt moved to put the car seat into Pieck’s car’s backseat, securing it. Porco put Gabi into it, buckling her in. Marcel got into the car, his tired eyes falling shut as soon as he sat down. 

“Go get laid and you’ll feel better,” Porco said, waving his hand dismissively. Reiner frowned, Bertholdt putting his hand on his husband’s shoulder. “You’ll be laughing about it soon enough,” 

All of the guests had left, leaving them the last ones there. They had stayed to help the venue staff clean up. “Reiner… there’s no use in being mad about it now,” Bertholdt said, Reiner’s expression softening slightly. “Everyone’s going to forget about it soon enough…” 

“…Fine,” Reiner said, leaning into the open door and pressing a kiss onto Gabi’s cheek. “Good night, dear,” 

“So your mom has her diapers?” 

“Yeah, you should only need a few. She’s mostly potty trained now,” Reiner reached into his pocket, pulling out a handwritten sheet of paper. Bertholdt pulled out his own list from his own pocket. 

“Actually mom has all of Gabi’s stuff that you’ll need in her hotel room,” Reiner thought out loud. 

“So Gabi likes eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but you have to cut the crust off and you need to cut it in half diagonally. If you can’t get her to eat something else just do that. If she resists food try telling her it’s Bert’s favorite food. That works a lot of the time,” Reiner stared at his paper. “Actually if you want her to do something tell her Bert does it. She wants to be like Bertholdt,” 

“She wets the bed sometimes, so send her to bed wearing a diaper. Gabi will only watch animated movies right now, if you need to distract her just put on The Lion King. If you want another movie she likes Tarzan. She’ll run around a lot when she watches Tarzan so keep that in mind. Gabi doesn’t sleep well without little Pock so make sure her piggy is around. Also—” 

“I think that’s enough, Bertl,” Pieck said, pulling the sheet of paper he had been reading from out of his hands. She took Reiner’s paper too, folding them up and putting them in her purse. “We’ll take good care of her while you’re gone. How long will you be away?” 

“We’re leaving in the morning, and we’ll be gone for about a week. We’re going to northern Paradis, so in an emergency we can try to be back in about a day,” Bertholdt went to the car door and gave Gabi a kiss. 

“Have fun, you two,” Pieck said, pulling Reiner into a hug before moving to hug Bertholdt. “Gabi will be fine, so don’t worry too much,” 

“You two going to check out all those hot springs in those mountains? Isn’t that what northern Paradis is famous for?” Porco asked, opening the front door and starting the car. 

“Yeah, we were going to go a couple of years ago to celebrate Bertl graduating college but that was around the time we got Gabi. We’re going to go ahead and get back to the hotel, we need to be ready to leave in the morning,” 

“If you have any questions, check the papers first and call us if the papers don’t answer them,” 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re fine,” Porco said, sliding into the driver’s seat. “We’ve got a kiddo too, we know what we’re doing,” 

Almost on cue, Marcel opened his eyes and waved at them through the window. 

  


“We’re _married,_ ” Reiner said, plopping down and sprawling out on the hotel room’s bed. They were leaving in the morning, so they didn’t splurge on a super-nice room. They saved that for Paradis, which was thankfully much cheaper than here. “I know we were pretty much married before, but now we really are,” 

“Feels like we’ve been married for years,” Bertholdt said, sitting down on the bed and taking off his shoes. Reiner sat up and followed suit, loosening his tie once his shoes were off. “But now I can officially call you my husband. It’s nice,” 

Bertholdt leaned over and kissed Reiner’s cheek, stroking it with his thumb. Reiner smiled and pecked Bertholdt’s lips. Bertholdt kissed back and bit Reiner’s lower lip, snaking an arm around his waist. “I love you,” 

“Love you too. My Reiner,” Bertholdt loosened his tie, giving Reiner a carnal look. “Let’s get to the best part of the wedding day,” 

Reiner couldn’t help but swallow before he was pushed flat onto the bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wound up being a lot longer than I intended, and I shaved some stuff out. I wanted to write a wedding, hehe.
> 
> (This picture I commissioned from [Moonlightshadxw](https://twitter.com/Moonlightshadxw)! Check her out.)


	8. Corn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 12, Bertholdt is 34  
> Reiner is a tailor and works with his mother, I forgot while I was writing that I haven't actually written about his work at all, hehe.

It was one of those things that she hadn’t ever really thought about until she was chatting with her friends one day. Falco wanted to do a matching Halloween costume with her, and they needed to plan early so that Reiner would have time to get their measurements, buy the fabric and materials, make the patterns, and put together the costumes. Karina would help, but it was still a massively time-consuming process. 

For as long as she could remember, Bert and Reiner would ask her what she wanted to be and went along with it. If she wanted something from the store, that’d be it. Something “unique?” Reiner or Aunt Karina made it. Aunt Karina more when she was a child, and Reiner in recent years. Reiner even made a couple of cosplay outfits for her when she got into anime! 

“Yeah, my first Halloween apparently my mom and dad dressed me up like a bat, and Colt was a vampire.” Falco had texted her during their conversation. Gabi frowned when she realized she didn’t know what she had been for her very first Halloween. But Falco only knew because the picture of him and his brother was hung up in their living room. 

Reiner was working late on some sort of special order for some person that was apparently special enough for Reiner to work extra hours, as much as he didn’t like doing it. But really, he was the more embarrassing parent for talking about baby stuff anyways. Reiner would get sappy and start cooing and going on about what a cute baby she was. If he wanted to be _really_ embarrassing he would start going on about how cute she _still_ was. 

“Bert.” Gabi said plainly, her sitting across from him at the kitchen table. He was engrossed in something, his reading glasses on the end of his nose and a red ink pen gliding across the paper in from of him. He didn’t look up from his paper, but he seemed aware of her presence because he raised his brows when she said his name. 

“Yes?” He frowned and looked at one paper, then another. He started marking something out on one of the papers then went back to looking at the other one. 

“What was I for my first Halloween?” Gabi tried to look at Bert’s papers, but they just looked like spreadsheets and a calendar. He must be planning events at the library for the coming months. In other words, boring work stuff she didn't care to know anything about. Bert's job sounded so boring! 

“Corn.” Bertholdt said distractedly. He didn't even look up from his work to answer her. 

“…What?” Gabi ask, her voice confused. 

“You were corn.” Bertholdt repeated, taking off his reading glasses and putting down his pen. He smiled at Gabi. “Reiner was a farmer, and you were his first-prize ear of corn.” He laughed when he spoke, but Gabi frowned. Bert cocked an eyebrow at her frown but didn't say anything else. 

“Ha ha, Bert. What was I for real?” Gabi got up and grabbed a juice box from the fridge, poking the bendy straw and drinking. Bert shrugged his shoulders and shook his head at her disbelief. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say. You were corn.” Bertholdt stood up, motioning for Gabi to follow him. “That year, we didn’t put a whole lot of effort into our costumes. We were exhausted and you were still a baby, so it wasn’t a priority to me and Reiner. Aunt Karina sort of made Reiner and I have fun because we needed to. She just got a little costume from the store because she was still having her cancer treatments.” Bertholdt led Gabi to the study he and Reiner had. He went to the bookshelf, scanning it. “Here we go! One of my favorites.” 

Bertholdt pulled out an old-looking book. It looked like a scrapbook of some sort. He led Gabi back down the hallway to the living room, sitting on the sofa and patting next to him. “What’s that book?” 

“Your mom and dad started _The Gabi Book_ a long time ago. Way before you were born, pretty much as soon as your mom knew she was pregnant. We’ve shown you this before, remember?” Bertholdt asked, looking down at her. Gabi looked carefully at the book but couldn't say she'd seen it before. 

Bert said she had seen it before? It must’ve been a while ago, because truthfully she didn’t remember at all. “No, I don’t…” 

Bertholdt had an almost melancholy expression. “Oh. Well, when your mom and dad learned they were having you, they started making this,” Bertholdt opened it to the first page. “See, here’s the first picture of you ever taken. Your mom showed it off as soon as she got it.” He pointed to an ultrasound picture, then flipped the page to a much-more developed ultrasound picture. “Here you are at, hmm… looks like the picture says 22 weeks. You look less like a blob here.” 

“They saved those old pictures from before I was born?” Gabi asked, looking at the words written in an unfamiliar handwriting. Observations about the pregnancy, the baby was kicking more, she wanted a baby boy that was like his older cousin. Gabi frowned and imagined herself as a mini-Reiner. No thank you. “Is that my mom’s writing?” 

“Yeah, it is. She was so excited. Oskar and Reiner thought you would look like your dad, but your mom and Karina and I were sure you were going to have the classic Braun family look. Looks like Reiner was right, you look like your daddy in a lot of ways.” He turned to the next page, grinning at the picture. “Here’s the first picture of you and Reiner.” Gabi looked at the picture. Reiner was posing with her mother’s belly, making a silly face. He looked so young, Gabi thought. He looked more muscular, and lacked the beard he had sported her entire life. There was another more serious picture of Reiner and her mother as well. There was some writing about Reiner on the pages. 

_Look at this goober, excited to spend time with his baby cousin!_

“He looks bigger.” Gabi observed. Not that Reiner was out of shape now, but he was _buff_ in these pictures! Bertholdt was quiet for a second, like he was in thought. 

“He lost a bit of weight after your parents died. He quit going and working out because he was raising you. I had to work to support us but he quit his job to take care of you and Karina. He regained some of the weight but he never got to be as muscular as he was. Most of the weight he gained back went to his tummy.” Bert chuckled and a blush crossed his face at the mention of Reiner's tummy roll. Gabi had made fun of it once and Reiner got really upset... but Bert seemed to like it. It was barely noticeable anyways! 

“Oh.” Gabi didn’t really know what to say, so she said nothing. At least Bert talked nice about Reiner's tummy rolls. Bertholdt turned the pages, going through the end of her mother’s pregnancy and birth. “There are a lot more pictures of mom than of dad…” 

“Someone had to hold the camera. A lot of these pictures with both your parents were taken by me or Reiner.” There was a picture of Reiner, Emilia, Oskar, Karina, Bertholdt and her that was in there. It occurred to her that this was probably the only picture ever taken with all of them in it. 

The sudden lack of pictures of her parents was a little jarring. But Bertholdt and Reiner still looked happy in the pictures, if not more tired compared to the ones before her parents died. Reiner's beard appeared very shortly thereafter, and it was nice to see Reiner looking like himself. 

“Here we go! Just the one I was looking for!” Gabi cringed in embarrassment at the picture. That was definitely Reiner dressed up in coveralls and a plaid shirt, with her in a corn costume. A blue first-place ribbon was in the book as well. There was another picture, with Bert and Reiner. Both of them were farmers? Really? Bertholdt was holding a toy cow while Reiner held her. 

“Look at how precious you were... my little Gabi.” Bertholdt wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. 

“Why are you guys so embarrassing…” Gabi mumbled, Bertholdt laughing. He leaned over and pecked a couple of kisses to her cheek, but Gabi squirmed to get out of his grasp and then wiped her cheeks. 

“Good thing you said that to me because that would actually hurt Reiner’s feelings. We’re supposed to be embarrassing. We’re like your dads, aren’t we? Hey, see this ribbon? That’s from you and Reiner winning ‘cutest costume’ in a costume contest, in the parent-child category.” 

Gabi skipped forward to see how far the book went. Wait… wasn’t that picture from a month ago? “How long does this go on for? Or is it supposed to?” 

“Well, your parents wanted to keep going until you finished high school, and it was going to be your graduation present. I can still hear Emilia chattering about it, now that I think about it. We’ve been keeping it up and we’ll wrap it up once you graduate school. I feel like that day is coming up so fast, you're already almost a teenager...” Bert trailed off absentmindedly. 

“So this will be mine in a few years?” Bertholdt frowned. 

“Yeah, a few years…” He trailed off again, Gabi raising her brows. Bertholdt looked at her, his head snapping to the side. “Sorry! I was just… thinking about something.” 

“About what?” Gabi prodded. 

“Ah, it’s just… my baby girl’s growing up,” Bertholdt laughed and closed the book. “I know that’s probably embarrassing to hear. We love you is all. Me and Reiner both.” He got up to put the scrapbook back, him coming back empty-handed. 

“Well, you can keep it here.” Gabi said, slouching back into the couch. She reached for the TV remote. Bertholdt almost looked hurt when she said that, him giving her a sad look. 

“Do you not like it, Gabi?” Bertholdt asked, moving to sit down next to her on the couch. He got comfortable, him grabbing the blanket and putting it over his legs. 

“No, it’s just I think you should keep it for now. You and Reiner like it a lot.” Bertholdt nodded and reached a hand over, tussling her hair. 

“You’ll get there. You liked it more today than the last time we showed it to you when you were younger. Reiner and I just like it because it's all about our special girl.” Bertholdt laughed and looked at Gabi fondly. She really was growing up to be a beautiful young woman. “You know Reiner keeps a copy of the picture with you in the corn costume. It's in his wallet.” 

“God, why is he so embarrassing...” Bertholdt wrapped an arm around Gabi’s shoulder and pulled her close. He wanted to cuddle her a little, like when she was younger. If she didn’t want that she’d pull away and he’d respect it. But she stayed still before adjusting her head, resting on his chest. “Bert...” 

“You don’t mean that. He has your first-grade school picture in there because he thought it was cute that you were smiling so big and missing your two front teeth.” Bertholdt plucked the TV remote from Gabi’s hand, turning on the TV. "His favorite picture in his wallet is one of me and you. From our wedding." 

“Hey, give that back!” Bertholdt squeezed the hand on her shoulder. 

“No can do. It looks like _The Lion King_ is coming on in a few minutes, want to watch that?” 

“That’s my favorite!” That was nice. Some things never change no matter how old she got. He changed the channel and leaned over so he could kiss the top of her head. “Bert…” She whined, her cheeks flushing. 

“Sorry, Gabi. You’re my baby no matter how old you get. I didn’t make the rules.” Bert hummed affectionately and held his daughter close. He missed his little Gabi snuggling him. He was going to take full advantage of Gabi being affectionate. 

She groaned, but she didn’t move. Instead she started talking about why Scar was her favorite villain. He could live with that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Corn](https://www.halloweencostumes.com/newborn-ear-corn-bunting.html)  
> (This picture I commissioned from [Moonlightshadxw](https://twitter.com/Moonlightshadxw)! Check her out.)


	9. Marcel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for something expanding on Porco and Pieck!  
> Porco is 19-20, Pieck is 20-21

“You’re going to have to figure something out, especially if you want her to stay in school,” Reiner said bluntly, taking a bite out of his sandwich. “What happened exactly?” 

Porco slouched back into Reiner’s sofa, his plate with his sandwich on the coffee table. Bertholdt was at school, the same one Pieck attended. 

“Pieck told me that she had some news, then sat me down and told me she was pregnant,” Porco shook his head and ran his hands along his face. “How could this happen?” 

“You had sex,” Reiner said, Porco shooting him a glare. 

“I know _how_ it happened,” 

“I figured Pieck would be on birth control? Was she not?” Reiner sipped at his soda. Porco’s food sat mostly untouched in front of him. He was a bundle of nerves, and eating seemed so… unpleasant. 

“God, I don’t know, she goes to the doctor every few months and gets a shot. She had a lot of trouble getting in to see the fucking doctor and I guess it lapsed…” Porco kept running his hand across his forehead. “I need a cigarette,” 

“Oh, okay. Let’s go out to the balcony,” The pair went, Porco pulling out his cigarettes and lighting one. Reiner frowned when a breeze blew the smoke onto him. “So what are you going to do? Did she say anything?” 

“She kept crying and saying she wanted to go see her dad, so I took her to the hospital then I came here. I just froze, I didn’t know what to say,” Porco gritted his teeth. “I’m only 19, what the hell am I supposed to do? She’s been working so hard to get into medical school, and I can’t let her not get there,” 

“You should drop out of school,” Reiner said, Porco looking absolutely insulted. He started to open his mouth before Reiner cut him off. “You never wanted to go to college. There’s nothing here for you,” 

“Why would Pieck even think about being with a dropout? If she’s having a baby I can’t just quit and not support it!” Porco’s voice started to raise, Reiner frowning and gesturing for him to tone it down. 

“Support her how? If you stay in college you still have three years left before you graduate, just like Bertl. But you have the better part of one year before she has the baby,” Reiner leaned against the railing on his balcony. “You’re the only one who can decide what you need to do. But I think staying in college isn’t what’s best for you,” 

“I don’t know. My folks are gonna be pissed,” Porco opened up his cellphone and looked at the picture of Pieck he had set to be his background. “I care more about her than them, though,” 

  


“Thanks for coming with me,” Pieck said, her tired eyes closed after another long night of studying. Porco had taken a new job as an apprentice for a car shop, so at least they had a bit more money now. The waiting room chairs of the doctor’s office weren’t comfortable at all. 

“You say that like I wasn’t supposed to come,” Porco responded, taking out a stick of gum and chewing it. He’d switched to chewing gum when Pieck complained about his smoking making her sick. He needed to quit anyways. “’Course I’d come for something this important,” 

They were called back quickly enough, the obstetrician greeting the two of them. “It’s exciting, isn’t it? A lot of new parents don’t feel like a baby is real until they get to see it,” 

Porco hummed, his arms crossed when he sat down. The doctor prepared the ultrasound, chattering away about early pregnancy, explaining fetal measurements, what to expect in the coming weeks. Pieck squeezed Porco’s hand when the doctor inserted the device to get the ultrasound, not painful but bizarre. “Cold!” Pieck complained, the doctor smiling sympathetically. 

“Sorry. You’re going to feel some pressure… pressure…” Porco watched the screen. It was black and grey and looked like a bunch of blobs. “The black is going to be fluids, like amniotic fluid and urine. There’s your bladder, not any urine in there,” He wasn’t really interested in knowing if Pieck was full of urine, truthfully. “There’s the uterus, and… there’s the baby,” 

“That’s my baby…” Pieck said, staring at the screen. Porco felt awkward. She was starstruck. He was feeling jittery but not in the same way. “There’s our baby, Pock,” 

…It didn’t really look like a baby at all. It was a big white blob. 

“Here’s the head, and if you look really closely you can see the tiny arm buds where the baby’s arms are going to be growing… see that flickering on the monitor? That’s the heartbeat,” Porco watched closely and noticed the flickering. 

“That’s the heartbeat?” Porco asked, watching the picture on the monitor. The doctor took the mouse cursor and moved it along the length of the fetus. 

“Yes. I’d say judging by these measurements, you’re looking at being about eight weeks along. So you should be due sometime around June next year,” Pieck breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through her hair. 

“Thank god, it’s during break from school,” Porco half-smiled sympathetically at her. Still so devoted to her studies in spite of everything. “We’re having a summer baby, you know what that means?” 

“They’ll never have to worry about being stuck at school on their birthday?” Porco joked, getting a big grin from Pieck. 

“Exactly!” 

  


“Have you thought about names?” Bertholdt asked, sipping the tea that Pieck had made. Reiner had just taken water. Pieck hummed breathily and sagged into the couch. She was about 20 weeks along, and they were going to learn the baby’s gender next week. 

Porco leaned into her on the couch, chewing on a wad of gum. Stopping smoking was getting hard with him worrying so much. He hadn’t felt like he had bonded much with baby at all. Was it bad that he didn’t feel like he loved it? He loved Pieck and was doing everything he was supposed to do. Went to the appointments, heard the heartbeat, rubbed her feet, started training in a more suitable career as a car mechanic. 

“If the baby is a girl I like the name Clara,” Pieck said, rubbing at her belly. 

“I want to name the baby Marcel if it’s a boy,” Porco said, taking out his gum and tossing it. “Pieck already agreed on it if it’s a boy,” 

“Yeah, I think it’s sweet. If Marcel were here he’d be giving you so much hell about being a dad before him,” Pieck joked, Porco smiling at the ground. 

“He’d be ripping me for not using a condom, that’s for damn sure,” Bertholdt and Reiner chuckled at that, thinking back to how Marcel was always the responsible one of the two. “Guess Reiner has to do it now,” 

“So does that mean if you two have a second baby you’ll name it after me?” Reiner asked with a smirk. “Reiner Galliard. Maybe you could give it Bertl’s name too. Reiner Bertholdt Galliard, sounds good to me,” 

“Shut the fuck up, Reiner,” Porco said, Pieck closing her eyes and grinning. “That’s the worst name I’ve ever heard,” 

“If we ever adopt a kid, hopefully it’ll have a better name than that,” Bertholdt said, the name grating on his ears. 

“I don’t trust either of you to name a baby,” Pieck said, Porco making a cocky face at them when they looked mildly offended at Pieck’s words. She didn’t even open her eyes before she continued. “Don’t get cocky about that, Pock, you’re not much better,” 

“Hey!” 

  


The reality really, _really_ was sinking in now and he was so afraid it was unreal. The house was littered with baby stuff, especially since the baby shower that Bertholdt had organized was just a week ago. Pieck was eight months along now, and Marcel would be there in just a couple of weeks. 

When was the falling in love moment? It felt like he was getting ready to babysit for someone forever and ever and he _hated_ babysitting. He didn’t like kids, wasn’t it different with your own? When they went to those parenting and childbirth classes all the other dads just seemed happier than him. 

“…Pieck,” She was sitting on the couch, her heating pad tucked behind her back, reading a study guide on the entrance exams for medical school. She’d be taking the exams in a little under a year, after all. “Can we talk?” 

“We can always talk, Pock,” He frowned at the nickname. He wasn’t even sure where it came from anymore. She adjusted when he sat down, her putting her book on the coffee table. “What’s on your mind?” 

“…I don’t think I love Marcel,” Porco admitted, running a hand through his hair. “I keep trying to do everything right but I’m just scared I’ll be a bad dad and annoyed I won’t be able to do all the shit I wanna do,” No more staying up all night playing video games with Reiner on the weekends, no more going out and drinking whenever he wanted, no more fun. 

“I know,” Pieck said like she would say she knew about the sky being blue. “You haven’t done a good job at all hiding it,” 

“…Why are you so laid back about it? Aren’t you upset?” Porco asked, putting his hand on Pieck’s shoulder when she leaned onto his chest. “I just admitted I’m going to be a bad father and you’re acting like nothing happened! I can’t deal with all this,” There were too many boxes of diapers littered around, that fucking crib took up too much time to assemble, Pieck’s feet hurt all the time, and he didn’t even know how to hold a baby! None of their friends had kids! 

“I’m not upset because I know you, and I know you just need time. The baby isn’t a real thing for you like it is for me,” Pieck moved to adjust her heating pad. “I feel him moving around every day and he’s been in my belly for eight months. You feel him every now and then and he’s just been blobs on a monitor,” 

“You think it’ll happen? What if it doesn’t? We aren’t ready to have a kid… at least I’m not,” Porco took another piece of gum. He hadn’t had a cigarette in months but dear god he felt like he needed one. 

“Hardly anyone is ever _ready,_ my piggy,” Pieck said, Porco blushing at the affectionate nickname. Only she was allowed to say that, anyone else would get their asses kicked. “You figure it out as you go, with some help from everyone else,” 

“I wish Marcel was here, he always helped me out of tight spots and knew just what to say,” Pieck rubbed her hand in circles on Porco’s belly, him squeezing her shoulder. 

“I know. I do too,” 

  


“It’s okay, you’re doing good, I love you, it’ll be over soon,” Porco felt like he was lying to her. But he needed to encourage her and make her feel supported, because she was clearly in _a lot_ of pain. It was distressing in a special sort of way, seeing someone as laid-back and calm as Pieck getting panicky. “Here,” 

Pieck gladly ate the ice chips that Porco gave her, squeezing her eyes shut tight. “Make it stop, make it stop…” 

She crushed his hand every time she squeezed it, leaving his hand sore. How many times did the doctor say to push? Every time the doctor said to push Porco became more convinced _he’d_ be a patient getting a broken hand fixed. 

Watching Pieck be in so much pain broke his heart and it was his fault because he knocked her up. She hadn’t barked at him that this was all his fault like moms did in movies, and that was nice because he sort of felt that way. 

“It’s a boy!” The doctor said after what felt like an eternity of hell. They put Marcel on Pieck’s chest and started to dry him off. It felt like so soon after the doctor looked straight at him. “Would you like to cut the cord, dad?” 

“Y-yeah,” Porco started to stutter, looking at the tiny human on his girlfriend’s chest. He nervously cut the cord, Pieck paying no mind while she watched Marcel. The nurses took him away after a minute to do the medical assessments, with assurances they’d be back shortly. “You did it,” 

Pieck laughed tiredly, Porco running his fingers along her hair. Sweaty. It was okay. She did so good. 

Marcel was brought back, and quickly was ready to be fed. Porco watched him latch onto Pieck and start feeding. They had him bundled up to keep him warm. 

“He’s so cute,” Porco said, reaching out and running a finger along the mess of black hair, inherited from his mom. He was too young right now to tell which parents he would look more like. 

“He’s so small,” Pieck observed. Not small for a baby, necessarily, but small to them. He stayed latched for a bit until he was done, Pieck handing him to Porco. “Look who it is,” 

“Hey, buddy,” Porco poked Marcel’s nose. “I’m your daddy,” Marcel stared at him and closed his eyes. “You’re going to be my little pal, aren’t you?” 

Pieck laughed and took Marcel back when Porco handed him to her. “I’m going to have my hands full with you two,” 

“Hey now, maybe he’ll be laid-back like his mommy,” A thought crossed his mind, Porco looking at Marcel. “God, I hope so… I don’t want to deal with having myself as a kiddo,” 

“Maybe that’s your punishment for getting into so much trouble,” 

Porco stroked Marcel’s hair again. “Hey now. You’d better not be a tiny me,” 

Marcel didn’t understand any of what his parents were saying, instead opening his eyes and yawning. 

"Look at you, already acting like a dad and he's not even an hour old," 

Porco could only bite the inside of his cheek and blush. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request box is open, for this au and pretty much anything else


	10. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting the chapter for Bertholdt's birthday early  
> Gabi is 6, Reiner is 29, Bertholdt is 28

Bertholdt’s eyes cracked open, him immediately squinting because the light was just _too bright_. Damn the sun, always frying his eyes in the mornings... Maybe he could convince Reiner to not open the curtains when he slept in. His back felt funny, Bertholdt becoming aware of his sleeping position as he blinked his tired eyes open. He was on his belly, his head at the foot of the bed and his feet on the pillows. His ass was propped into the air, and his back was bent at an awkward angle 

He distinctly remembered Reiner snuggling into his chest when he started to drift off… Bless him for dealing with a husband with such erratic sleep patterns. The sheets were absolutely destroyed where he moved so much during the night. Trying to salvage the situation, Bertholdt turned around and laid back down on his side, then straightened the sheets up. Once he was comfortable, he pulled a pillow over his head. 

The door creaked open, Bertholdt opening up an eye and seeing Gabi standing in the doorway. She didn’t seem to notice him watching her from under the pillow, but she _had_ noticed he had moved from the awkward position before. “Reiner! He’s up!” Bertholdt wanted to groan and sleep, and he cursed Gabi for being at that excitable, but annoying, age where she just wanted to play in the mornings. 

Bertholdt kept a single eye open and watched Gabi in the doorway, anticipating her coming over and bothering him. Reiner quickly came up behind Gabi and looked into the room, turning her away when he saw Bertholdt trying very much to _not_ be up. He spoke much more softly that she did. “He’s not up yet, sweetie, so let's leave him be.” 

“But he moved!” Gabi protested, but Reiner just scooted her out of the doorway. Gabi seemed to huff, but didn't resist when Reiner moved her.

“Bert moves a lot while he’s asleep, so let him rest. See how cozy he is?” Reiner said. He closed the door and left Bertholdt alone, but he could still hear Gabi's voice outside the door. Reiner made direct eye contact with Bertholdt's open eye when he looked inside, so he knew he was awake. But at least he got Bertholdt a few more minutes of peace and quiet. Bertholdt closed his eye and let himself lay, the door opening up again and Reiner coming inside. He closed the door behind him. No sign of Gabi. 

Reiner sat on his knees next to the bed, Bertholdt pulling the pillow off and sitting up. He tiredly looked at Reiner, who moved in to press a kiss to his cheek. “Happy birthday, love.” Reiner said, Bertholdt humming. He took one of Bertholdt's hands into his own, then stroked with his thumb. “You’re getting old, Bertl. Another year closer to the big 3-0.” 

“You’re older than me…” Bertholdt protested weakly. Reiner leaned forward and kissed Bertholdt, then ran a hand through Bertholdt's hair. His bed hair was so cute, going all over the place. Such a big difference from how neat Bertholdt usually kept it. 

“I never said _I_ wasn’t old, just that _you’re_ getting old too.” Reiner stood up, then started running his fingers through Bertholdt’s messy hair. Bertholdt closed his eyes and enjoyed feeling Reiner petting his head. He leaned down and pecked Bertholdt’s lips. “When do you want to ‘wake up?’ Gabi made you breakfast in bed for your birthday.” 

“O-oh, she did…?” Bertholdt asked hesitantly, Reiner noticing and snickering at his husband's reaction. Gabi couldn’t help cook to save her own life. She was more proficient at making a mess. One time Bertholdt hadn’t been paying attention, and eggshells made their way into the eggs she cooked. Reiner was alarmed when his scrambled eggs were crunchy, and then Gabi started crying because she thought Reiner would be mad at her for messing up his eggs. 

“Well, she ‘made it.’” Reiner made air quotes when he spoke. “I made it. I let her crack the eggs and she kept a hand on the pan handle while I cooked. I checked the eggs for shell bits before I cooked. I did tell her she could put the syrup on your pancakes so they’ll be a little soggy, I’m sure…” 

Bertholdt wiped his eyes and yawned, stretching out his arms. “That’s fine… they’ll be fine. Did you two already eat?” How long did they let him sleep in? Usually Reiner woke him up on weekends before Gabi stirred so they'd have some alone time together. 

“Yeah, Gabi was impatient and I went ahead and ate with her.” Reiner scratched at his nose. “Don’t feel in a rush to get up because of her, though. I put in _The Lion King_ and she’s watching that in the living room right now. I'm surprised you didn't hear her when I put the DVD in.” 

“Give me about five more minutes and then tell her I’m up.” Bertholdt blinked slowly. Reiner got up and closed the blinds, much to Bertholdt's relief. “Thank you, dear...” 

“You’re welcome. I’ll go get Gabi after I bring you some coffee.” Reiner left, closing the door behind him. Bertholdt could hear the familiar tune of _Circle of Life_ playing whenever Reiner opened the door to leave. After a minute Reiner came back with his mug, an ‘I heart dad’ mug from Gabi. The coffee was on the verge of being like candy, Bertholdt liking it loaded down with cream and sugar. At least compared to the black coffee Reiner drank. 

Bertholdt sipped it happily, moaning in satisfaction when the first drop of coffee touched his soul. It tasted like Reiner had put lots of hazelnut creamer in today. Reiner even put some ice in for him. Perfect. Reiner turned back around to leave. “I’ll go ahead and make up your breakfast. Do you want more coffee?” 

“Please.” Bertholdt asked. “Thank you, Reiner.” 

“Anything for my old man. You're getting up there in years...” Reiner teased, taking Bertholdt’s nearly-empty mug from him and going back to the kitchen. He could hear Reiner saying something to Gabi through the door, tinier footsteps following him. 

After a few minutes of silence, he heard the tiny footsteps thudding quickly towards his door, Gabi pushing it open forcefully. Bertholdt winced when the door flew open, the doorknob smacking against the wall. “Happy birthday, Bert!” Gabi had a small wrapped box in her hands, Reiner following behind her with the tray of food and his coffee. 

“Gabi, don’t push the door open that hard. You'll put a hole in the wall. Again.” Reiner scolded. 

“Sorry.” Gabi said, though it was apparent she wasn’t really that sorry. She wasn't concerned at all about what Reiner said. “I made you breakfast!” 

“You made me breakfast all by yourself?” Bertholdt asked her skeptically, Gabi turning around and looking at Reiner. His eyebrow was cocked, daring her to tell the truth. 

“Wellll… Reiner helped _a little bit_ but it was mostly me.” Bertholdt chuckled and patted the bed next to him, Gabi climbing up the empty side of the bed to sit next to him. Reiner put the tray of food down on the nightstand, and Gabi plopped her box down on Bertholdt’s lap. “I got you a present!” 

“Really? And where’s my present from Reiner?” Bertholdt looked at his husband, and Gabi turned to stare at him too. Bertholdt knew that Reiner would’ve been the one to pay for or make whatever Gabi got him, but it was still fun to tease him. 

“You’ll get your present later.” Reiner said plainly, moving to sit down cross-legged on his side of the bed. 

“Go oooonnnnn, open it!” Gabi said, sitting halfway in Bertholdt’s lap. He put his arm around her shoulders, and Gabi leaned her head against his chest. 

Bertholdt tore away the wrapping paper, finding a plain box underneath. He peeled open that box, pulling out a picture of him and her and Reiner that she drew, and a couple of ties in different fabrics. 

“Reiner made the ties but I picked out the fabric!” Gabi said excitedly, Bertholdt looking at them closely. One of them had little unicorns on it, another was a space print with glitter on it, and the third had cute cacti with happy faces on them. “Your ties you wear to work are boring.” 

“She said she wanted you to wear fun ties to work, but I didn’t want her using the sewing machine.” 

Gabi pouted at Reiner's words. “Auntie Karina taught _you_ how to sew, why can’t I make ties for Bert?” Bertholdt held the ties, feeling the fabric. They were expertly made, Reiner having put a lot of time and effort into making the stitching perfect, but the texture was funny. Gabi didn’t pick out fabric usually used for apparel. But they were still functional, and they were definitely more fun than his usual ties. 

“Reiner will show you when you’re older. You're too little to use the sewing machine.” Bertholdt said, kissing the top of Gabi’s head. “Besides, I think picking out the fabric is the hardest part. Reiner did the easy part for you.” Gabi beamed and smiled, a tooth missing from her wide grin. 

“Do you love them?” Gabi asked, snuggling against Bertholdt. He leaned his head on top of hers. He wasn't sure which shirts would match his new ties the best. 

“Of course I do, next time I wear a tie to work I’ll let you pick the one I wear.” He'd wear the one with unicorns next time he went to work. He could tell just watching Gabi that she liked the unicorn one the most. 

“Yay!” Gabi said excitedly. “My favorite one is the unicorns.” Called it. Bertholdt kissed Gabi's cheek and thanked her again for his ties. 

“Let’s let Bert eat so his food doesn’t get cold, sweetheart.” Reiner said, Gabi turning to look at him. She quickly turned and looked back at Bert. 

“Will you come and watch The Lion King with me and Reiner?” Gabi gave puppy-dog eyes to Bertholdt. One of his only weaknesses. 

She knew Bert was the one who that worked on; Reiner used the puppy-dog eyes so much against Karina as a kid that Gabi couldn’t even dream of him falling for it. But Bertholdt couldn't help but cave in almost every time she gave him that sweet look... 

“I’ll be in as soon as I’m done eating, okay?” Gabi nodded and climbed over Reiner, hopping back down onto the floor. She made her way to the living room, the familiar sound of Simba’s voice coming into the room. 

Reiner gave Bertholdt the tray of food. The plate Reiner made looked good, but he wasn’t kidding when he said Gabi made the pancakes. There was so much syrup on them that they looked like they’d turn to mush if he tried to cut it. The butter pat on top was way too thick. “She did her best. And made them the way she likes them.” 

“It’s the thought that counts. We have a very thoughtful little girl.” Bertholdt said, drinking his coffee. “So what did you get me for my birthday?” 

“You’ll get it after Gabi goes to sleep. I think you and I will have a lot of fun with it.” Reiner said suggestively, him leaning down and kissing Bertholdt's cheek. "I'll let you do whatever you want tonight. Anything for the birthday boy." 

“Hmm. I can’t wait.” Bertholdt said, his mind wandering to a lewd place. He used the spoon to eat the pancakes, them as mushy as he expected. 

“Try and come in before Mufasa dies. I don’t want to deal with her by myself when that happens.” Reiner requested, Bertholdt nodding while he ate. 

“Will do. I'll be out as soon as I'm done eating.” Bertholdt said, Reiner closing the bedroom door behind him. 

Bertholdt looked at the picture Gabi had drawn of them. It was so sweet, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to frame it and put it in his office at work or if he should magnet it to the fridge. 

He had her at home, he supposed. Better put it in his office so he has a bit of her there too. Bertholdt tucked it safely into the drawer in his nightstand, and put his ties in the closet with the others. 

How lucky was he to have a husband and daughter that loved him so much? 


	11. Sailor Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 13, Reiner is 36

“Stand still, Gabi,” Reiner said, his eyes squinted while he held the measuring tape in his hand, taking the measurements of Gabi’s body. Gabi rolled her eyes. 

“I am being still, Reiner,” Reiner said nothing, writing down Gabi’s measurements on his notepad. She was fidgeting too much. “Are you almost done?” 

“If you want me to do this for you, you’ll be patient,” Reiner’s brows furrowed. Gabi had an attitude problem lately, and she had been getting snippier with him over mundane things. Even when he did his best to do things for her she would hardly even thank him. “It takes time, Gabi,” 

He knew she was getting to be a teenager... but still. 

“Okay,” Gabi didn’t seem to have much to say to that. He measured her legs, then her waist. He scribbled down more numbers. “It’ll be done in time for the comic-con, right?” 

“Yes, dear,” Reiner said absentmindedly. He was thinking. The skirt would take some time. The big bow would too. “I’m going to make Falco’s costume first, because it’s not going to take as long,” 

“Okay,” That was Gabi’s favorite word these days. How was school? Okay. We love you, Gabi. Okay. Dinner tonight is Bert’s macaroni and cheese. Okay. “I’m going to my room,” 

“Alright, sweetheart,” Gabi looked at Reiner, him scratching the back of his head. “…Actually, I’m going to go start buying fabric to make the costumes, do you want to go with me?” Reiner stood up and looked at her. “We can go spend a little time together,” 

Gabi blinked at him. He really wanted her to go with him, she could tell. She’d rather get on youtube, truthfully. “Okay,” 

  


Gabi kept her nose in her phone while she walked along the aisles with Reiner. He grabbed a bolt of shiny red fabric, putting the bolt into the cart. “These fabrics are great for what you and Falco have in mind, plus it’s on sale,” Reiner said, grabbing a bolt of thicker black fabric to make Falco’s jacket. 

“It’s all fabric, isn’t it?” Gabi asked, running her hands along the bolts. Some of it felt nicer than others. “Can’t you just buy the cheaper stuff?” 

“God, no,” Reiner said, chuckling. “You have lots of different fabrics. I’ve been doing this a long time, so I know what’ll work for you. Don’t worry,” A bolt of blue fabric. A bolt of white fabric. A matte red. “Let’s go buy some gold buttons for Falco’s costume,” 

“Okay,” Gabi looked at the text message from Marcel, calling her a dork for cosplaying a character from a lame anime. “Marcel is an asshole,” 

“Gabi, watch your mouth,” Reiner looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow. “We’re in public. If you’re going to swear save it for at home,” 

“Okay,” 

“So what did he say now?” Reiner tossed the golden buttons into the cart. Time to go to the silk flowers to grab a rose. 

“He said Sailor Moon Crystal is lame and that I should be watching Dragonball instead,” Reiner laughed at that. 

“I’ve heard this before. The original Sailor Moon came out when Bert and I were younger, and we liked it but Porco and Marcel liked Dragonball Z,” It was almost surreal. His daughter and Porco’s son having the same argument they had some twenty-seven years ago. About the same shows. “We all liked Pokemon and Digimon, though. Pieck could do the whole poke-rap,” 

“Poke-rap…?” Gabi asked, looking at Reiner with a confused expression. “They had a rap?” 

“Yeah! All the pokemon, back then there were 151 of them. We would all watch pokemon together when we could. Annie and Marcel liked watching digimon more. But all of us loved pokemon,” 

“You were all dorks,” Gabi smirked at Reiner, him scoffing at her. 

“And yet here you and Falco are asking me to make you anime cosplay,” Gabi crossed her arms. He had her there. 

“Shut up,” Reiner laughed at her, noticing her cute little blush. They made their way to get the fabric measured and cut, then headed to checkout. Gabi bit her cheek when they made their way to the cash register, the total being _a lot_ higher than she thought. Strangely, Reiner didn’t look phased at all. He presented a coupon to the cashier, the total going down significantly. 

“Thank you,” Reiner grabbed the bags of fabric and embellishments. If he forgot anything he could just come back to buy them later. He handed a bag to Gabi, her helping him take everything out to the car. 

“I didn’t mean to make you spend so much money,” Gabi fidgeted in the seat once they sat down, Reiner turning the car on and driving them to buy some food. “I thought fabric was cheaper,” 

“I could’ve bought cheaper fabric but I want my girl and her friend to have the best,” Reiner turned the blinker of his car on, pulling them into the parking lot of a restaurant he and Gabi liked. “Besides, you’re cosplaying _Sailor Moon!_ I have to make it good for you,” 

Gabi laughed. “I can’t believe _you and Bert_ were Sailor Moon fans,” They got out and went inside, Reiner getting a table for two. The waitress brought them their drinks, Gabi wanting a cherry limeade while Reiner took a coke. “Wasn’t it more of a girl’s show?” 

“Doesn’t Falco like Sailor Moon Crystal?” Gabi thought about it. Reiner had a point. She hadn’t even thought about it. But Falco was different! He wasn’t her dad, or her other dad! 

The waitress took their orders, then came out a little later with their food. Gabi chattered about what shows she liked watching with her friends. Apparently Marcel was wanting to be Piccolo. He really was Porco’s child. 

“Reiner?” Gabi picked at what was left of her food after she inhaled the mashed potatoes. “When are you going to teach me how to sew?” 

“Hmm? I didn’t know you wanted to. I can show you whenever you want. I have plenty of scrap fabric at home we can make little crafts with,” Reiner felt his heart start to flutter a little. She was wanting to spend some time with him again. 

As Gabi got older, she needed him and Bertholdt less and less. She was becoming her own person, growing up and spending more time away from home. Even when they were all out together she was far less affectionate. He knew it was part of growing up. But still. 

He and Bertholdt missed her. He kept pictures of her younger years tucked safely in his wallet as a reminder of times long gone. 

“I’d like that. I wanna watch you make my cosplay. When did Aunt Karina teach you?” Reiner thought about it. 

“I was a bit older than you. I already had custody of you,” Another sip of soda, Gabi looking surprised at the revelation. “I guess that made me about 23 when I started sewing,” 

“Really? What did you do before then?” 

“I played football in high school to go to college, then I got a degree to be a teacher,” Reiner stirred his drink while he spoke. “High school. And Bert was going to be a librarian at whatever school I was teaching at,” 

“Why aren’t you a teacher, then? You have the degree,” 

“Well, I got custody of you and mom had cancer. I got so used to the stay-at-home dad thing, and mom taught me to sew in the meantime. By the time I was able to go back to work, I was good enough at sewing to go work where mom worked, then eventually I became a tailor,” 

“So you chose sewing instead of being a teacher?” 

“It gave me a better schedule. I don’t have to bring home work as much,” Reiner reached over the table and pinched Gabi’s cheek, him being facetious. “Which meant more time with my little sweetheart,” 

“Reinerrrr,” Gabi whined, pushing his hand off her face. He smiled warmly at her. “Don’t call me that in public…” 

“Sorry,” Reiner paid their tab, but not before ordering a to-go dinner for Bertholdt. He should be home from that event he had to host at the library. They went ahead and paid, making their way to the car. 

“Reiner?” Gabi asked, him putting the key in the ignition then looking at her. “I want a selfie,” 

“Of course,” Reiner said, hiding his joy somewhat. He felt closer to her than he had in a while. Gabi moved to turn sideways, getting Reiner in the shot. She flashed a cheeky grin at the camera, Reiner smiling at it. “That’s a good picture,” 

“Hmm. My eyebrows look funny. Let me get a couple more,” Gabi took a couple more selfies, Reiner keeping his smile. “That one looks better,” 

They looked mostly the same to him, but he did like the one she picked more than the original. 

“I might need to get that printed out and put it in my wallet,” Reiner said, watching Gabi play with the filters on her phone. She looked at Reiner, a frown on her face. 

“No! There are too many embarrassing pictures of me in there. I bet you still have that picture of me in that stupid corn costume!” Reiner made a smarmy expression at her, pulling out his wallet and opening it up. There is was. Gabi lunged at him, trying to snatch his wallet away. 

“There’s that one, your first grade picture, here’s you and Bert at our wedding,” Reiner flipped through the pictures, holding it out of Gabi’s reach. “I need a newer picture of you,” 

“Well pick a different one!” Gabi pulled away, looking at him. “You’re so embarrassing sometimes,” 

“Be careful what you wish for, Gabi, because you just might get it,” Reiner said cryptically, Gabi unsure of what to make. He didn’t sound mad. More like… scheming. 

  


“In the name of the moon, I will punish you!” Gabi said, holding up the moon stick in her hand. Falco stood beside her in his Tuxedo Mask cosplay, fidgeting a little. Even with the mask on, Reiner and Bert could both see the small blush on his face. How cute. 

“Laaaaame,” Marcel said, crossing his arms. He was going to the comic con as Piccolo, much to Porco’s pride. Pieck didn’t seem to have much of an opinion on his choice, though. She just said she’d have thought anything was cute. 

“Nobody cares what you think, Marcel,” Gabi replied, Marcel rolling his eyes at her. 

“Hey, pose with Tuxedo Mask,” Reiner said, pulling out his cellphone. Gabi obliged, Falco blushing more when she got close. He held his cape around her, handing her his fake rose. 

Hehe. New wallet picture. She couldn’t even try to withhold it, it was on _his_ phone to start with. 

A Sailor Moon cosplay is a better wallet picture than a selfie anyways. 


	12. Dinosaur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for the dinosaur incident/the parents as teenagers!  
> Reiner, Pieck and Annie are 17, Bertholdt and Porco are 16.

“Mom didn’t get mad or threaten to throw me out. But… I could tell she was so disappointed in me. She started to say we could go to church more, I could talk to the pastor, read scripture, but I got upset and yelled at her that it felt like she didn’t love me,” Reiner ran a hand down his face, holding his forehead in his hand while he leaned against his locker. “…I wish I wasn’t gay,” 

He was hurt. Again. Annie shook her head and glanced up at Reiner. “You need to figure yourself out. You hurt Bertholdt so bad when you say things like that. He feels like you wouldn’t love him if you had the choice,” 

“…I know,” Reiner admitted, chewing his bottom lip and staring down at the ground. “I love him. So much. When I’m with him it feels right. But… is it okay? To love him? Mom is always-” 

“She’s a damn hypocrite if you want me to be honest,” Reiner glanced down at Annie, recoiling defensively at her tone. “She’s never been married, but clearly she had sex because you exist, and sex outside marriage is a sin too isn’t it?” 

“Well, yeah, but that was just an isolated incident…” Annie tuned out the rest of what he had to say after that, honestly surprised that Reiner was willing to believe his mother literally never had sex after he was conceived. Wait… did she ever have boyfriends? Reiner never mentioned them at all if she did. _Did_ she have sex? Why was she wondering about Reiner’s mom’s sex life? She blinked and refocused on what Reiner was saying. “…but I don’t think I can fix it,” 

“You obviously love him and you’re so happy when you spend time with him. I didn’t think you were religious like your mom anyways,” 

“I mean, _I’m not,_ but… sometimes when I kiss him and we start going further, I worry… about, you know… hell,” Annie shook her head. “I want it so much. I want him so much. Not even just sex. I don’t want to imagine a future where he’s not around,” 

“Then sort your shit out, Reiner. He loves you a whole lot and he’s been dealing with you being freaked out and wishy-washy for a while, but eventually he’ll get tired of it and find a man okay with being in love with another man,” At that, Annie glanced down at her phone to check the time, making her leave. She had a bit of a distance to walk to get to class. 

Reiner felt his gut twist. Bertl? With another guy? …Just the thought alone made him want to cry. His mom’s reaction when he told her he was gay made him want to cry. Bertholdt being hurt because he was a stupid jackass who didn’t have a handle on anything made him want to cry. 

All the students in the hallway shuffled on to their next class. He kept his eyes on the floor as he made his way to Mr. Smith’s class. Reiner jumped in surprise when he felt a hand grab at his shoulder, turning around to find Porco. 

“Hey. Meet me outside the gym after school lets out,” No further explanation, Porco dipping into Dr. Zoe’s class. Reiner blinked and shook his head. Paradisan History was going to be even harder to follow with so much on his mind. 

  


“Hey. I wasn’t sure if you’d come or not,” Porco said, Reiner cocking a brow when he noticed that Porco was standing about twenty feet away from the sidewalk behind the building. “The property line ends riiiiight there,” Porco pointed at where the grass ended, being replaced with cement. “They can’t bitch me out for smoking past that line since I’m not on school property anymore,” At that, Porco lit himself a cigarette, closing his eyes and enjoying the pleasant burn. He offered Reiner one, knowing it’d be turned down but wanting to be cordial enough. 

“Why did you tell me to come out here?” Reiner asked, noting that none of the others were here. Bertholdt and Pieck and Annie were all absent. 

“I need help with something and Annie’s being a buzzkill today,” Porco rolled his eyes. “Said she had better things to do. Like what? Go spar with her dad again? Anyways, I have a great idea, and-” 

“I’m out,” Reiner said, adjusting his backpack. Lots of homework this weekend. “Annie saying no is a bad sign,” 

“Come on, hear me out!” Porco took his cigarette out of his mouth and sidestepped to face Reiner again. “It’s a great idea. I didn’t ask Pieck and Bertl because they don’t like doing anything except arguing with one another on who stole the other’s style,” Porco rolled his eyes. Scene, emo, same bullshit to him. 

“Uh huh,” Reiner said slowly, cocking an eyebrow. 

“You know that abandoned dinosaur theme park that our parents went to when they were kids? I was over there the other day. You know the abandoned sculptures are made of fiberglass?” 

“Okay?” 

“We can move them,” Porco grinned to himself when Reiner’s expression and stance became less guarded. He was opening up. Maybe actually willing to let himself have some fun. “Think. Just imagine. See it in your head. A triceratops. But on top of the school. I’ve found a triceratops, a couple of velociraptors, an ankylosaur, and a stegosaurus that’ll fit into my truck after a couple of trips,” Porco took another drag off his cigarette, inhaling deeply. 

“…No t-rex?” Hook. Line. Sinker. Porco was excited. He wanted to spend some time with Reiner. He’d been moping around a lot the past few days. They both needed to cut loose. 

“The brontosaurus and t-rex are way too big for me and you to move, plus they’d never fit in the bed of my truck,” 

“Okay, you win. But nobody can know it was me and you, so don’t go bragging about it,” 

Porco smiled, flicking away the butt of his cigarette. “Our little secret. Let’s have fun tonight,” 

  


Their previous conversation had finally died away, a comfortable silence forming in the truck while some old song neither of them really cared for played over the radio. Porco had been talking up this girl he had a crush on, Ilse, while Reiner had chattered a little about Bertholdt’s new lip ring and eyeliner. 

Reiner leaned against the passenger window of Porco’s truck, Porco glancing into the side window every now and again to make sure they weren’t being followed. They hadn’t seen anyone for a bit, they waited until night had fallen for some time to go out. Reiner glanced at his phone when it vibrated in his pocket, pulling it out and looking at the text message from Bertholdt. 

“God damn it all,” Reiner mumbled, opening the text to type out a response. Porco glanced over at Reiner, raising an eyebrow. “Bertl is upset again,” 

“Isn’t he moody all the time now? What with all the emo shit,” Porco focused on the roads before him, driving more slowly than he normally would as to not draw too much attention to himself. “I found his poetry in his notebook that he dropped and I was kinda worried there for a bit,” 

“No, Pock, it’s more than that. Bertl wants to, uh,” Reiner bit his lip and felt his face burn a little. “Take our relationship _further,_ ” 

“He wants to fuck? You don’t already?” Reiner snapped his head to the side and shot a half-glare at Porco, getting an unimpressed look in return. “I just thought that since you’ve been sucking face for almost a year now you’d already bumped uglies,” 

“Don’t say it like that, geez. We haven’t,” Reiner twiddled his thumbs a little. “There were a couple of times I really, really wanted to and Bertl was practically peeling his pants off, but I always stopped it,” 

“I dunno what you’re waiting for. If Ilse would give me the time of day I’d be on it the second she’d let me,” Porco’s expression softened when Reiner didn’t respond to his joke, looking at him blankly. “Why don’t you? Are you afraid of something?” 

“Hell,” Reiner swallowed and leaned against the window of the truck, erasing the half-typed message to Bertholdt. “…Mom didn’t react well when I came out. She thinks being gay is a sin. I… don’t want to go to hell,” 

“That’s a stupid reason to not have sex,” Porco said, turning on his blinker to go down the road on the way to the park. 

“Porco, I’m being serious,” 

“If you’re made from God, and you’re gay, that must mean God’s a little bit gay himself. You won’t go to hell,” Porco turned to Reiner. “So go get laid and try not to think about me too much,” He flashed a wink at Reiner. 

“Fucking hell, Porco, you’re the last thing that’d be on my mind,” Reiner rolled his eyes and leaned into the window. “I hadn’t really thought about it like that, though. Mom said once we’re all made from God and if I’m gay and he doesn’t make mistakes…” 

“We’re here. Let’s grab the velociraptors first. There are two of them, but they aren’t too big,” Reiner and Porco got out of the truck, making their way to the first dinosaur. “Shit! That’s heavier than I thought it’d be,” Porco strained and grunted when he and Reiner moved to try and pick up the dinosaur, eventually managing to lift in into the bed of the truck. 

“Think we can get the other one right now?” Reiner asked, dusting his hands off on his pants. “I think if we turn it facing the other way we can fit both of them in the truck,” They worked to secure the first dinosaur before going to get the other. 

“They’re heavier than I thought… maybe we should just put them in front of the school,” Porco thought out loud once the second dinosaur was loaded, the two of them getting back into his truck. “Thanks for coming out tonight, man,” 

“Hmm. I can’t believe you convinced me to do this,” Reiner laughed and stared out the window. The sky was clear and starry tonight. “Hmm? Bertl texted me again? Oh, oops. I didn’t respond to his last text,” He should’ve. But he didn’t. Got distracted. 

“What’s he going on about now?” Porco asked, frowning when he noticed that a car pulled behind him and seemed to follow him for a bit. He relaxed and leaned back into his seat when it turned down a side street. 

“He asked what I’m doing, because I always respond to his texts and didn’t earlier,” Reiner scratched behind his head. “I don’t want to lie to him but he’ll explode if he finds out what I’m out doing,” His phone vibrated again, Reiner going pale. “He said I’d better not be out doing anything stupid with you,” 

“The hell does he know what we’re doing? I never asked him or Pieck for help because I know how they are,” Porco’s brows furrowed as he thought hard. A realization. “Annie,” 

“Fuck,” Reiner mumbled to himself, running a hand through his hair. “…What do I do?” 

“Here, we’re almost to the school. Let’s get them up and we can raincheck the triceratops. I’ll come up with another plan for it anyways,” They pulled into the school, Reiner tucking his cellphone into his pocket and hopping out of the truck with Porco. They unloaded the first velociraptor, Porco exhaling when they set it on the ground. “If we’re only doing these two we could probably get them on the roof, then you can get home and tell him you fell asleep during a movie,” 

“How?” 

“The straps we secured them in the truck with. I have a bunch of extras, so we’ll use the ladder behind the gym to get up then hoist them up,” The two of them set their plan into motion, strapping up the first dinosaur and, with a very great deal of effort, hoisting it up. “Let’s put him over here so you can see him from the front of the school,” 

“Hehe. This is fun,” Reiner chuckled to himself, stifling laugher at the sight of the dinosaur overlooking the school parking lot. Porco chuckled to himself and put his arm on Reiner’s shoulder. “You have a fun idea every now and then,” 

“Let’s go get the other one so you can get home and talk to your tender-hearted, skinny-jeans wearing Prince Charming,” Reiner rolled his eyes, following after Porco. He froze for a moment, grabbing Porco and pulling him behind a vent. 

“There’s a cop down there, Porco,” Reiner said, pointing out the car. They both squatted and watched it, Reiner’s stomach doing flips. Porco gritted his teeth. 

“I need a cigarette, jesus. I thought he saw us there for a sec, as slow as he was going,” Porco stood up, looking around. No other cops in sight. “Now I’m getting nervous. Let’s do this and get out of here,” 

“Maybe we should stop while we’re ahead, Porco,” Reiner mumbled, worrying about the unanswered text messages in his cell phone again. “We should go. We already got one,” 

“Come on, don’t quit on me now, Reiner,” Porco went to the ladder, climbing down. Reiner followed after him, Porco immediately taking notice of his demeanor. 

“Mom doesn’t even know I snuck out, I need to go home before I get in trouble… Bertl’s already going to be frustrated for not responding to his texts…” Reiner helped Porco unload the dinosaur, moving it the same way to the base of the school. Porco couldn’t help but stare at Reiner freaking out. 

Fuck it, it wasn’t even fun anymore. “I’m not going to force you to do this, let’s just leave the dinosaur on the ground here and-” 

The blue lights and sirens of the police car that had driven by earlier came on, Reiner immediately freezing alongside Porco. They turned to the source of the lights, two police officers stepping out of the car. “Both of you! Put your hands up! Now!!” 

Porco looked over to Reiner. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen such terror in a person. 

The policemen made their way over to them, turning them both around and cuffing them up behind their backs. The cops were talking to them in harsh voices, but Porco had no idea what they were saying because everything turned into a blur. Both of them were put in the backseat of the car. “Not a peep out of either one of you. Not. A. Peep,” The cop driving the car said. Reiner swallowed and nodded, then stared at the floor of the car. 

Porco tried to give Reiner an empathetic look, but he wouldn’t even look up from the floor of the car. The telltale vibration of a text message sounded from Reiner’s hip, him briefly looking at his side before staring at the floor again. His lip started trembling, his eyes blinking slowly. Porco chewed the inside of his cheek when he saw tears start to run down Reiner’s bent nose, dripping onto the floor. A heavy breath prompted the police officer in the passenger seat to turn around and look at them before looking away again. 

They fucked up. Bad. 

  


“God, Reiner, I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry,” Porco said, the two of them cuffed up and sitting on a loveseat in an office inside the police station. Reiner gritted his teeth and sobbed quietly to himself, shaking his head but otherwise not responding. 

The main police officer came into the room, an unimpressed look on his face. “Let’s see here. Second degree trespassing. Grand theft, third degree. First degree criminal mischief. You two know one of those is a felony, right? And seventeen, too, we could charge you as an adult easily. And you're almost seventeen, wouldn't be too much harder,” Reiner started shaking like a leaf, tears and snot flowing freely down his face. “You could get five years in prison just for the theft. Do you understand how much trouble you could be in?” 

Reiner lost it, and began ugly crying. The cop frowned at him. “Stop crying,” Reiner ignored the cop, who approached him and looked down at him. “Stop. It,” Reiner shivered and made lots of choked noises, but otherwise clammed up. The police officer stepped back. “We already contacted your parents. Ms. Braun should be here first, but Mr. Galliard will be here shortly as well. You two will wait here until they arrive,” 

They were uncuffed and left alone, Reiner immediately burying his head in his hands and ugly crying again. Porco moved to put a hand on Reiner’s back, Reiner immediately jerking away and turning to face away from him. More vibrations, Reiner’s crying easing slightly as he looked at the messages before he tossed his phone onto the floor and cried harder. He started coughing from sobbing so hard, shaking his head while he clutched at his hair. 

“What’s that about?” Porco asked himself, grabbing the phone off the floor. His eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead, him biting his lip and glancing at Reiner. 

_So help me GOD reiner I can’t deal with these games. we’re done._

_You can’t even be bothered to text me back when I confront you about doing stupid bullshit with porco. hope his dumb ass is worth it._

_I’ve been patient with you and you can’t accept that you’re with a man. you probably wish I was a woman. go fuck ilse if being “sinful” is such a big deal to you, she’ll put out for you. or are you gonna marry her first and stay pure?_

The text was so uncharacteristic of Bertholdt that Porco almost thought it was a joke. He really, _really_ fucked up. It was so awkward, sitting there and listening to Reiner just cry like that. Eventually he started hiccupping because of the crying. 

“Reiner! What’s gotten into you lately?!” Ah. Reiner’s mom. Porco watched her come in, her clothes cobbled together and her features tired. “Sneaking out? Doing all this? You’ve never acted out then all of a sudden you’re stealing and trespassing?” 

“Why do you care?” Reiner got out through his tears. “You don’t love me anymore anyways!” Reiner turned away, looking at a wall to the side so Porco and his mother were both out of his line of sight. 

“Why would you think something like that?! I love you, I always have!” 

“Ever since I told you I was in love with Bertholdt you’ve been acting like something’s wrong with me! All you talk about is taking me to church more. You haven’t been asking me about school or anything else. You don’t even put the notes with happy faces in my lunch anymore…” 

“Reiner,” His mother was cut off in an instant, with another sob. 

“Just leave me here, let them send me away, I deserve it, Bertl doesn’t even want anything to do with me anymore…” Karina sighed and moved over to Reiner, pulling his head into her stomach and running her hands through his hair. She gave Porco a truly indecipherable look before turning her attention back to her son. 

“Reiner. The police already talked to the property owner and the school. Nobody is pressing charges on you, nothing is going to happen to you. I… I’m sorry,” Reiner mother sniffled and wiped at her eyes. 

“I never meant to make you feel like I don’t love you, you’re the most important thing in the world to me. I’m so, so sorry, Reiner,” 

Reiner didn’t respond, only held his mother’s torso while he cried. Porco fidgeted awkwardly before handing Reiner’s phone to his mother, her wordlessly taking it and slipping it into her pocket. After a few moments, Reiner’s mother helped him up, leading a still-sobbing Reiner away. The door closed behind them, Porco running his hands along his face. 

He never meant to fuck up Bertholdt and Reiner’s relationship. 

His dad would be coming soon. Porco frowned. He wouldn’t be getting any sort of heartfelt reunion, he was sure. He’d probably just bitch him out again. Say something stupid like _‘If Marcel were here’_ as though it did anything. 

Fuck it. He needed a good shouting match to get all his frustration out. 

Porco slouched back into the loveseat, his arms crossed. Eventually the door opened, his father standing in the doorway with his arms crossed as well, a frown on his face. “What’s up, dad? Wishing I died instead of Marcel again?” 

  


Porco held his cheek in his hand and glanced again at the empty desk in his geometry class. Reiner was out again today. That made the fourth day in a row Reiner had missed, an extreme anomaly to say the least. Reiner was always proud of his attendance. Only ever missed when he was sick. He would probably be out tomorrow, too, because why come one day after missing the rest of the week. 

He shook his head and chewed his pencil. Math didn’t matter right now. As soon as class was over Porco grabbed his stuff quickly, scanning the heads of everyone in the hallway. Eventually he saw Bertholdt’s unmistakeable backside, towering above several others. He wasn’t wearing the necklace or wristbands Reiner had gifted him, Porco noticed. 

Bertholdt had always loved wearing them and showing them off. Someone like Reiner going out of his way to go to Hot Topic to pick out something so _not_ his style had made Bertholdt swoon at the time. 

“Bertl!” Bertholdt turned around and scanned the hallway after hearing his own name. He caught sight of Porco and frowned, turning away. “Bertholdt!” 

Porco shoved his way through the crowd, catching up to Bertholdt quickly. Pieck was with him, hidden by her short stature. Oh, she added a pink highlight. It was cute. 

“What do you want, Porco?” Bertholdt asked, looking down at him. Pieck remained silent, looking awkwardly at the floor before grabbing her phone and distracting herself. 

“Have you heard from Reiner?” Bertholdt frowned again. 

“No. Why would I? I’m done with him. We’re through,” Porco bit his lip again. This was his fault. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about what happened to him because he could take care of himself. 

“Bertl. Reiner wanted to stop,” Porco shook his head and looked down. “He was so desperate to stop before we were caught and I kept him from getting home,” 

“You were caught?” Bertholdt asked, surprised. He had heard about what happened, seen pictures of the dinosaur on the roof, but just assumed they had slipped away under the cover of night. That explained why one of them was just sitting on the ground behind the school. Some students had taken pictures of themselves with it in the meantime. 

“Yeah. When you were texting him, when you broke up with him, we were at the police station. He couldn’t respond to you. He was devastated when you sent those last messages,” 

Bertholdt closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Even so, he’s still acting like being gay is the end of the world. I can’t deal with that,” 

“I know he’s been hung up. He and I talked about it. He started crying at his mom about it at the station. Bertl, Reiner wanted to go home that night and text you, he chattered so much about you that night in the truck it got annoying,” 

Porco glanced over at Pieck, who was staying out of the argument completely. She had an opinion, he could tell, but whatever it was she wasn’t talking. 

“God, Bertholdt. I can’t make you do anything, but _please…_ give him another chance. We talked that night… he and his mom talked that night I’m sure. He loves you so much and I can’t let my fuckup and me talking him into doing something stupid ruin the best thing he’s got in his life,” 

Bertholdt’s expression seemed to soften, even though he was still clearly frustrated. “I’ll… think about it,” Bertholdt turned to leave, Pieck looking at the floor. 

“Pieck. What am I going to do?” 

“You did the right thing, Pock. But it's up to Bertholdt now to decide what he wants,” He nodded at her, her sticking her tongue out before heading off to her own class. 

He supposed it must have worked at least a little, because whenever Porco saw Bertholdt at school the next day he was back to wearing his wristbands and necklace. Still no Reiner, though. He’d been absent from social media, too. 

When Reiner came back to school the next week all Porco got was stony silence, nothing more. Reiner barely looked at him and absolutely refused to speak to him. His whole demeanor had changed; he was just staring blankly at the floor when he walked down the hallways. Reiner was clearly a little traumatized by the incident. 

It was especially weird because nobody else was refusing to speak to him. Even Bertholdt would. Group gatherings would get awkward when Porco would try to joke or talk to Reiner and get no response in return. He had overheard Pieck and Annie trying to get him to open back up, but Reiner had refused. 

When Pieck told him they finally got a room and fucked, he couldn’t even mess with Reiner about it. He had been looking forward to giving Reiner hell when he finally got laid. He missed his friend. 

Maybe one day they’d talk again. In the meantime, the least he could do was give his friend some space, he supposed. 

  


“…And that’s the story of how I knew these two would be together forever!” Porco announced, Reiner making a perfect facepalm. Part of him hoped the photographer would capture such a beautiful facepalm if he were being honest. The audience clapped for the new grooms, Porco personally proud of his speech. 

That was all like nine years ago, it didn’t matter if the dinosaurs weren’t their little secret anymore. Reiner was obviously embarrassed by the speech. He didn’t have any idea what was up next. 

“Who wants to hear the story about the time I knew these two weren’t as slick as they thought they were?” Claps and cheers from the audience spurred him on. Bertholdt leaned over and started whispering something to Reiner, both of them looking a little nervous. Bertholdt bounced his knee up and down, Gabi sitting on it and nearly asleep. 

“So every Wednesday night Reiner would tell his mom he was going to the church’s youth group…” 

Both of them froze in place, horrified expressions on their faces when they realized where he was getting ready to go. Porco flashed a cheeky grin and continued with his story. 

They’d be embarrassed now, but they’d all have a good laugh about it later. If they could bounce back from the dinosaur incident they’d bounce back from anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept seeing emo-tolt on twitter and I absolutely love the idea hehe. Pieck being a scene kid spoke to my heart too.  
> I always felt like Karina would be religious. Not a zealot and not a massive asshole about it but a little overbearing. This takes place six years before the first chapter when they got Gabi so Karina has had some time to take a chill pill.
> 
> ~~the dinosaur incident is based off something my aunt told me about that happened about ten years ago lmao~~


	13. Divorce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for a more angsty chapter, a time where they nearly split up.  
> Reiner is 28, Bertholdt is 27 (Gabi is 5 but she's not really here much)

Reiner shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers while Bertholdt stood before him defiantly, a deep scowl crossing his features. _Keep it together,_ he thought to himself. “Do you even have any idea what you’re saying?” 

“You have no idea what I’m feeling!” Bertholdt snapped back, crossing his arms. Reiner scowled and brought a finger up to his mouth, turning back and pointing at Gabi’s room. Bertholdt rolled his eyes and continued glowering. 

“It’s been a year, Bertholdt, and you’re _still_ saying stupid shit. I’m sorry your dad died, but you _have_ to move on from it,” Reiner breathed in deeply. _Keep it together. Keep it together._

“That must be so easy for you to say, Reiner! You still have family that cares about you,” Reiner gritted his teeth in anger, his fists balling up. 

“Does this mean nothing to you?!” Reiner brought his left hand up and pointed at his wedding ring. “I thought when you married me that made _me_ your family but you’re acting like since your dad is dead you have nobody left! We’ve been having this argument over and over for months!” 

“I bet it’s easy to say things like that when you have your mom to go back to,” Bertholdt replied sarcastically, ignoring the comment about their marriage. That wasn’t the point. Reiner was family. But not the same kind of family. 

“Oh really? You want to play that game? Why don’t you go running back to _your_ mom then?” Reiner’s fists shook from being balled up so tightly, him grinding his teeth. “After all, you seem to have no problem going back to family that hate me. You know Luis never liked me but you insisted he have a relationship with Gabi anyways! And I let him even though it made me uncomfortable because you wanted it!” 

“Leave dad out of this!” Bertholdt narrowed his eyes dangerously, Reiner not reacting at all. 

“I bet it’s easy to say things like that when you had a dad to go back to,” Reiner replied sarcastically, mirroring Bertholdt’s earlier response. The mirrored statement wasn’t lost on Bertholdt. “At least you _had_ a dad! And had a mom! I met my dad once and he called me a fucking mistake he wanted nothing to do with!” 

“All I wanted was to deal with the fact that my whole family is gone! Why won’t you leave me alone and let me grieve?” Bertholdt went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, sipping it. 

“That’s the whole problem! Stop saying your whole family is gone! You’re acting like I’m nothing!” Bertholdt glared at Reiner, not responding to him. “I stood by you because I loved you and all I’m getting back is rejection,” 

Reiner suddenly felt like a massive weight dropped on his chest. He started to sniffle, but shot a glare back at Bertholdt, storming off to their bedroom. He grabbed his tote bag, throwing in a change of clothes. “Where do you think you’re going?” The voice was close to him, but absent of concern and filled with irritation. 

“Since I’m not family to you, why does it matter?” Reiner barked back at Bertholdt. He pulled off his wedding ring and slammed it on the kitchen counter, shooting daggers at his husband. Bertholdt seemed to recoil at the gesture, but it was quickly lost on him when Reiner went to Gabi’s room and opened the door. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Bertholdt asked, grabbing Reiner’s shoulder and pulling him away from the door. “Leave our daughter out of this,” 

“Since you don’t have any family left, I’m taking _my cousin_ and going to mom’s house,” Reiner jerked his shoulder back and lowered his voice. Had Bertholdt been literally anyone else, surely it would have filled them with abject terror. “After all, she’s not your family. You said it yourself. Your whole family is gone,” 

Bertholdt recoiled again, Reiner coming back out a minute later with Gabi in his arms, Pock the pig in hers. There was an outfit shoved hastily into the tote bag. Gabi leaned against him, her eyes tired. She looked at Bertholdt and frowned. “Why is Bert mad, Reiner?” 

“Bert needs time to think. We’re going to have a sleepover with Aunt Karina, okay?” Reiner turned to face Bertholdt, shaking his head and grabbing the car keys before opening the door and slamming it back shut. 

Bertholdt moved quickly after them, opening the front door to see Reiner strapping Gabi into the car seat. Reiner glanced up and looked at him, hurt evident in his face. He blinked, some tears dripping down his cheeks. 

“Hey, what-” As soon as Bertholdt opened his mouth, Reiner got in the car, starting it quickly and driving away. 

Bertholdt took a breath and ran his hand through his hair. He slammed the front door behind him. He wanted to yell, to scream, to cry. Instead he growled and went to the kitchen, grabbing his water bottle and taking a drink. 

The sight of Reiner’s wedding ring on the counter drew his attention. He went over and picked it up, looking at it in his hand. 

Textured meteorite with a black finish. It was a no-brainer, at the time. A reminder of the meteor shower they watched together their first week at the camp they met at. He moved it in his hand, reading the engraving on the inside. _Written in the stars._

Reiner had cried so much when he looked at his ring, tearing up next to him on the airplane on the way to their honeymoon. Not that he was much better. Neither of them had actually seen their wedding rings until the ceremony itself, having sized themselves together and buying their rings as surprises. 

He slid his own wedding ring off his finger and looked at it. Reiner had admitted it was really hard for him to pick out a ring. It was a black cobalt ring, a band of gold going through the middle of it. He glanced on the inside of the ring and read the engraving Reiner had put in. _You’re stuck with me!_

“Yours was so thoughtful,” Reiner complained at the time when he looked at the ring he got his husband. Bertholdt had smiled and rested his head on Reiner’s shoulder. 

“But yours is so _you,_ ” 

His lip trembled, Bertholdt leaving both the wedding rings on the counter and going to his room. 

  


Work was hell on earth. He woke up alone that morning, having barely slept the night before. Reiner wasn’t there to wake him up and kiss his temple, his sugary coffee made. Gabi wasn’t there going on some long, meandering conversation about nothing. All day, all he could think about was work being over so he could deal with the mess he was in. 

Bertholdt rubbed at his face, finding Reiner’s car still gone when he returned home. Great. They needed to talk about their argument last night… Both of them started slinging things just to hurt the other. 

His whole family was gone? What was he thinking? Writing off Gabi and him like that… no wonder Reiner was hurt. 

He made his way to their bedroom, kicking his shoes off and finding the bed unmade. Right… Reiner did that in the mornings after he left for work. Bertholdt’s heart sank when he opened the closet, finding a good portion of Reiner’s clothes gone. He went to Gabi’s room, finding a lot of her clothing and toys gone as well. 

“Did he take her toys to Karina’s?” Bertholdt thought out loud, burying his head in his hands. He made his way to the kitchen, desperate to get some water in him and to take a pill for his blooming headache. Oh…? A note? Their wedding rings were still on the island, though it looked like they had been moved. Bertholdt frowned and picked up the note. 

_Bertl,_

_I can’t deal with this anymore. God, I love you so much. But my heart can’t take this anymore. I’m not going to lay bare my feelings here. Call me selfish but it hurts too much to think about._

_Truthfully you should probably get a medal for dealing with me for what? Twelve years? I know I’m not easy to love. I can be impulsive and overprotective. Close myself off too much. I know I’ve hurt you. I’m sorry. Every time I hurt you… I’m really, really sorry._

_I would marry you again and do it all over. Even if I knew it would end like this, with me standing alone in the kitchen crying and looking at that stupid joke I put in your ring. I don’t regret marrying you. God, I just love you so much and I can never express it right. Without you Gabi wouldn’t be the girl she is today. I’m such a better person because you were by my side growing with me. I will never, ever, **ever** say I regretted being your husband._

_And I won’t ever stop loving you. Don’t think that this is because I don’t love you. I love you more now than I did last week, and more then than the day we were married. I tried to hate you. I tried so hard to remember all the bad times to make my heart hurt less about this situation but those bad feelings just couldn’t stick._

_I saw you took off your ring, too… I guess we’re on the same page, at least a little bit. I guess part of me hoped I’d get home and just pick mine up because you were still wearing yours?_

_I’m running out of room on this paper… I talked to Armin this morning. His divorce lawyer was really, really good and when he got divorced everything was settled quickly. We’ll get a custody arrangement for Gabi worked out and figure out what to do about the mortgage and everything else._

_I love you. With all my heart, and then even more. Now and forever._

_-Reiner_

There were spots all over the paper where wet droplets had fallen onto it and dried up. Now new wet droplets fell onto the paper, Bertholdt choking out a sob and wiping at his face. 

This couldn’t have just been about the fight last night. They’d been having problems for months. They stopped having sex with one another; when was the last time they made love? The fact that he didn’t remember was a bad sign. And he had said his family was gone, all while Gabi was snuggling with Pock in the next room and Reiner was standing there begging for him to listen. Asking what that wedding ring was supposed to mean if not family. He’d heard it before. Several times. 

Maybe he always ignored it when they fought because deep down, he knew Reiner was right and in the heat of all those moments he didn’t want to be wrong. 

Bertholdt walked quickly to his car, turning it on and making the quick drive to Karina’s house. All the lights were off, Reiner’s car not in the driveway. Karina’s car was there, but much to Bertholdt’s frustration, there was no answer whenever he went to knock on the door. They must all three be gone in Reiner’s car. 

He grabbed his cellphone, pulling it out quickly and dialing Reiner’s number. He ran his hand through his hair at the feminine voice informing him that the person he called was not accepting calls at this time. 

…It’d look bad for him to stay put here and wait for Reiner and Karina to come home from wherever they were at. Dejected, Bertholdt went back to the empty house and laid in his empty bed. 

Fuck the library. Bertholdt called out of work the next morning and planted himself right at home. Reiner would have to come back sometime. He cleaned up, made a little bit of food, but mostly just stared blankly, waiting for the door to open. 

After a while… it had to be a while? Right? The sun was still out, it was still his normal working hours, and the familiar jingle of keys sounded from outside the door. Bertholdt immediately sat up straight, his stomach suddenly becoming an Olympic gymnast in his gut. 

Reiner looked bad. He always did neglect his appearance when he was stressed out. He caught sight of Bertholdt’s eyes and immediately averted his gaze, staring down at the floor. 

“I won’t be long, just getting a few more of Gabi’s things she’s been asking for…” Reiner said quietly, walking quickly to Gabi’s room. Bertholdt sprang up from his seat, following behind him. 

“Reiner,” Bertholdt started, his husband interrupting him. 

“Bertl… please. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Reiner spoke much more softly than he normally did. Usually despite his typical introversion he was able to command people’s attention. Now he was barely peeping. Bertholdt put his hand on Reiner’s shoulder, his body withdrawing as Reiner shrunk away. 

“I’m… sorry… Reiner, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Bertholdt grabbed Reiner’s shoulders and turned him around, throwing his arms around Reiner and burying his face into the fabric on Reiner’s shoulder. He could feel Reiner’s face lower and bury into his own shoulder, Reiner’s body shivering and heaving when started to cry. “I’ve been such a fool, I can’t believe I hurt you so badly,” 

No response. Bertholdt pulled Reiner tighter and cried into his shoulder. Reiner still didn’t wrap his arms around him. 

“I can’t do this, Bertholdt…” Reiner pulled away, moving to sit on the edge of Gabi’s bed. “My heart is broken, Bertl. I can’t hear you say I’m not family again. I can’t deal with feeling so alone,” 

“You’re my family, you’ve always been my family,” Bertholdt moved onto the bed and buried his head into Reiner’s chest. “Even before Gabi. Before we got engaged. Before we lived together. You asked me if the wedding ring meant anything but now I know that it doesn’t. Because you’d still be my family even if we never got married,” 

Reiner shivered and sobbed into his hands, Bertholdt moving and putting his head on Reiner’s shoulder. 

“You made me feel like Luis mattered so much more to you than I did. That Gabi…” Reiner inhaled deeply, his breaths choppy. “That Gabi wasn’t as important. I know you loved him, but he still didn’t like me and I started to feel like you’d throw me away to get him back,” 

“… I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough. I’m sorry. I loved him, but… I couldn’t be open and free with him the way I am with you,” Bertholdt squeezed Reiner’s torso to his body. “I couldn’t ever let him read my poems or be myself the way I am with you,” Bertholdt moved to grab one of Reiner’s hands, squeezing it in his own. “My soul is yours,” 

“Bertholdt… One conversation won’t make all this go away,” Reiner wiped at his eyes, leaning down and rubbing at his face. “I’ve felt cast aside for months. I don’t feel like I’m important anymore,” 

“I’ll go to therapy with you. Please, _please_ believe me when I say I love you. I can’t lose you. You’re my family,” Bertholdt kissed each one of Reiner’s knuckles. “You and Gabi both. I don’t know about Karina because she hasn’t given me the Braun family recipe for lemon cake,” 

Reiner chuckled, Bertholdt happy to hear it. “It’s on the side of the Betty Crocker box… she just puts a little bit of lemon zest in the batter,” Reiner started to relax a little, Bertholdt nuzzling him and holding him. “…What are we gonna do, Bertl?” 

“If you’ll let me, we, we can go to therapy. Please. I can’t lose you,” Bertholdt moved to stand, reaching a hand out and helping Reiner stand up. His eyes were red and wet, his cheeks tear-stained. There was stubble all over his face; he must not have shaved at all since he left, though his beard was still prominent amongst the stubble. 

Reiner let himself be dragged, Bertholdt grabbing his hand and leading them to the kitchen. The note was gone; Bertholdt had moved it, put it on his nightstand where he read it and reread it over and over the night before. He grabbed Reiner’s wedding ring and looked at it. 

“I got this for you because it reminded me of one of the first nights we spent together. Remember? Our team, the warriors, had beat the titans in capture the flag and we won those little trinkets. I got the compass and you got the slingshot. We stayed out late playing with them, and there was a meteor shower that night. You and I sat under the tree and watched it together,” 

“I remember,” Reiner said, watching while Bertholdt put his wedding ring back on. He hadn’t noticed the tan line on his finger until now. Bertholdt had a matching tan on his own hand. “I remember when we left camp we all started noticing each other at school and hanging out,” 

“I can’t even remember a time without Annie and Porco and Pieck,” Bertholdt chuckled, running a thumb along Reiner’s wedding ring. Reiner picked up the ring he had gotten for Bertholdt and looked at it. He took Bertholdt’s hand and slid the ring back down his finger. 

“I guess you’re stuck with me,” Reiner laughed softly, the redness fading from his cheeks as time passed. Bertholdt smiled and pulled Reiner closer to him, Reiner closing his eyes and feeling Bertholdt run his hands through his hair. 

“I’m sorry I made you feel so unimportant…” Bertholdt ran his thumb along his own ring finger. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I took you for granted,” 

“I’ll set up an appointment with a marriage counselor later,” Reiner mumbled to himself, pulling away and walking to their bedroom. He let himself lay on the bed, closing his eyes. Bertholdt nuzzled next to him, kissing his cheek. “Mom’s getting Gabi after she gets out of school. They’re going to go to see that new Disney movie since Gabi’s been wanting to…” 

“Hmm. Think that leaves us time to take a nap? Can I hold you?” Bertholdt asked, Reiner nodding and adjusting so that Bertholdt was the big spoon. Reiner set an alarm and put his cellphone on his nightstand, closing his eyes and letting Bertholdt’s warm body keep him cozy. 

  


Reiner’s eye cracked open. Bertholdt had been spooning him when they drifted off but now his legs were up in the air, supported by the headboard. 

Nothing he hadn’t seen before. How did Bertholdt sleep like that anyways? 

He reached for his cellphone. Oh, a new text message from Armin. 

_Sorry it took so long to reply. Busy with work, you know how it is. Here’s the contact information for the divorce attorney. He made my divorce quick and painless. I know it hurts. I’m sorry._

Reiner blinked and turned around, watching Bertholdt start to move again. His arms started to move, both of them crossing on his chest. 

His fingers quickly moved to the delete message button on the phone. He didn’t need that after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pokes request box*  
> You can request things outside this au, or more from this au, I'm not picky.  
> Thanks for reading!


	14. Dada

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reiner is 24, Gabi is about 1, Karina is 45

Reiner sat on the workstation with his mother beside him, looking proudly at the work he had done. Karina smiled and ran a hand along Reiner’s back. “That’s very good, Reiner,” Karina said, taking the small dress from him. “The stitching is very good, you’ve improved a lot,” She inspected the garment closely. “You still need to work on keeping the fabric steady while you sew it, but Gabi won’t mind,” 

She handed the dress back to Reiner, him turning and watching Gabi stacking up her blocks on the floor. Gabi noticed Reiner and Karina watching her, standing shakily and attempting to walk across the room to them. Karina chuckled when she took a couple of steps, then fell onto the floor. 

When Gabi took her first steps, Reiner and Bertholdt had both freaked out and immediately gotten their cameras out. Now the excitement had faded and baby gates were frustratingly installed in both Karina’s house and their own. 

Reiner got up from the chair, squatting on the floor and reaching his arms out to her. “C’mere, Gabi!” Reiner said cheerfully, watching her fall over again. Gabi stood back up and toddled her way over to him. Reiner scooped her up and hugged her tight, Gabi laughing when Reiner pulled up her shirt and blew a raspberry on her tummy. 

“Oh my little sweetheart, I love you,” Reiner said fondly, holding Gabi to his chest. Karina sat down and watched, remembering a tiny Reiner laughing against her own chest. Gabi stuck her hand out, reaching for Reiner’s nose and grasping it when he pulled her closer. 

“Da…” Reiner sat down on the couch next to Karina, watching Gabi as he bounced her up and down on his knee gently. “Dada,” Reiner’s eyes opened wide, him turning to look at his mother. “Dada,” 

“Mom, she talked,” Reiner said, staring wide-eyed at Gabi. She reached her hand out to him, trying to grab his nose again. “She called me dada…” 

“She’s about that age, Reiner,” Karina reached out, Reiner handing Gabi to her. “She’s going to be learning to walk and talk and play,” Gabi turned and reached towards Reiner again, Karina laughing softly. Gabi turned to her aunt, grabbing the cap on Karina’s head and pulling on it. 

“Ah! Ahhh…” Gabi took the cap and put it in her mouth, Karina gently taking it away from her. Gabi started to rumble when it was taken, Reiner quickly grabbing a plush bear off the floor and handing it to her to distract her. Gabi put the ear of the bear in her mouth, Reiner frowning. They’d need to work to get her out of wanting to stick everything in her mouth. 

“Sorry about that, mom,” Reiner said, taking Gabi back. Karina rubbed at her scalp, having difficulty getting used to being bald. She adjusted the cap back onto her head. 

“Nothing to be sorry for, dear,” Karina got up and crossed the room to the kitchen, grabbing some water bottles and handing one to Reiner. “She’s just a baby, she doesn’t know,” 

“Mom,” Reiner seemed preoccupied when he spoke, setting Gabi back down onto the floor. She crawled back to her blocks and began stacking them again. “I don’t,” Reiner crossed his arms and leaned back into the sofa. “I don’t think I want Gabi calling me daddy…” 

“Hmm? Why not, dear?” Karina asked, turning to face her son. She adjusted the pillow behind her for support. 

“I’m not her dad. Uncle Oskar is,” Reiner said plainly. “I know if Uncle Oskar was still alive he and Aunt Emilia would be great parents and would love her to death,” 

“Have you talked to Bertholdt about this?” Karina asked, smiling to herself when Gabi knocked over her block pile. She moved to start stacking rings on her stacker. 

“A little. More recently though,” Reiner watched Gabi put one of the rings in her mouth, chewing on it. “We talked a little bit, she can’t call one of us mom and the other dad like most other kids do,” 

“Ah. Okay,” 

“We thought about just having her call us by our names. You’d still be Aunt Karina,” Reiner felt annoyed when Gabi tossed the ring she had, it rolling underneath the chair in the living room. He’d have to move the chair to get the ring out from underneath. “When she’s older we’re going to tell her about her mom and dad. She’s too young to understand,” 

“I don’t know how to get her to call me Reiner, though. I guess I’ll have to start out with something easier for her to say. Bertholdt, too,” 

“I remember when you were little you would say Bert instead of Bertholdt, but that was before you started calling him Bertl,” 

“I think if we can get her calling me Rei, it’ll be easier to get her to call me Reiner,” Reiner sat cross legged on the floor, grabbing some of Gabi’s blocks and stacking them. This drew her attention, Gabi choosing to crawl over to him. She swiped her hand and knocked the small tower over easily. 

“Dada,” Gabi said, watching Reiner. He shook his head at her and smiled. She reached out with a hand, him sticking out a finger that she grabbed onto. She stuck his finger in her mouth and sucked it, him withdrawing it. 

“Rei,” Reiner picked up Gabi and moved her to the little xylophone that she liked. He put the little mallet in her hand, Gabi beating the carpet with it instead of the toy. She looked at Reiner and put the mallet in her mouth, him frowning. “Stop putting everything in your mouth,” 

“She should stop that soon enough, Reiner,” Karina watched her son take the mallet not in Gabi’s mouth, gently striking the xylophone with it. Gabi pulled out the mallet and started whacking it, Reiner handing her the other one. He left out the little tambourine and maracas, going back to sit with his mother. “Toddlers just like sucking things,” 

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” She made a noise each time she struck the xylophone. 

“She’s going to be quite the musician one day,” Karina joked. She looked over at Reiner. “When are you going to tell her about Oskar and Emilia?” 

Reiner scratched at his beard. “I don’t know. Bertl and I were thinking we could borrow the scrapbook you made for them a couple of years ago so we could tell her stories about them and she could see them,” 

“Of course you can borrow the book,” Gabi started beating on the tambourine, then started hitting the carpet with it. “I can make copies of all the pictures and make a second one for her. I’ll add pictures of you and Bertholdt so it’s more for her,” 

“That’d be nice, mom,” Gabi threw the tambourine, crawling on the floor back to Reiner. She looked at him, him picking her up and sitting her on his knee. “Here, darling,” Reiner put the plush bear into her hands, Gabi once again chewing on the ear. 

“Rei,” Reiner pointed at himself and repeated what he said. Gabi stared at him. 

“Ah!” She leaned in and threw the bear at his face, the toy bouncing off and landing in his lap. She reached for it and hugged it to herself. “Ah!” 

“I don’t think she wants to listen right now,” Reiner sighed at his mother’s words. He knew she was right. Gabi threw the bear at Reiner again, him laughing and grabbing her hands. 

“She’ll listen when she’s older,” 

Karina scoffed. “We’ll see about that,” 

Reiner would rue the day he realized just how right his mother was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this a while ago and forgot to post it, oops :p


	15. Bullying (au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request in my request box for a chapter where Gabi is bullied for having two dads, and where Gabi is also realizing she is bi. They wanted it a little heavy too. If I wrote out what I had originally come up with this would be quite a bit longer, but I have a couple of other requests in the queue. Hope this is along the lines of what you wanted.
> 
> This chapter isn't canon with the rest of the au, Gabi's sexuality is undefined, she doesn't really have any issue with bullying and homophobia isn't super widespread and pervasive in my normal stuff. But I liked the idea behind the request, hence au.
> 
> TW for a couple of homophobic slurs towards the end.
> 
> Gabi is 14, Reiner is 37, Bertholdt is 36.

“So the client asked me if I’d be able to design him and his friends some custom suits for the event, that’d be a lot of extra money and I was thinking we could use it and go…” 

Reiner and Bert were talking about mundane things again. Gabi looked down at the plate in front of her. It was Thursday night; every Thursday leading up to the weekend they would get takeout from somewhere as a treat. This week Bert and Reiner decided to have pizza. Extra extra cheese, because all three of them liked it that way. 

Gabi frowned and picked at the food. They were so domestic. So normal. Standard boring parents talking about their jobs. Bert laughed at something Reiner said, and took a bite of his pizza. The sauce dribbled out and it got caught in Bert’s chin hair. Reiner smiled and reached over with a napkin, wiping Bert’s face. 

Why did the other kids at school make fun of her because of her dads? She didn’t ask to have two dads. It wasn’t fair. She missed out on so much because she didn’t have a mom. Why did her mom have to die? 

Even the teachers got weird about it. It was so humiliating that day Bert came to pick her up from school and the teacher wouldn’t release her to him. “He doesn’t look anything like you, he isn’t your dad, he has a different last name than you,” Bert had tried to keep his cool but then he made a huge deal about it to the administration and then a bunch of teachers gave her nasty looks. Still do sometimes. 

“So, Gabi, what do you think?” She blinked and looked at Reiner, who was looking at her. “Wouldn’t that be fun? Going with the Galliards to the beach for spring break? We could rent a little bungalow!” 

“Yeah, sure, the beach. Great.” Reiner looked at Bertholdt in confusion, getting the same look back in return. She was acting a little funny. 

“So, how was school today?” Bert asked, trying to probe her just a little. Gabi blinked. He was fishing for something. 

Nothing happened at school today. Except Kaya made a point to talk about all the fun things her and her sister did this weekend. But wait, she couldn’t have a sister because she had two dads. The home ec teacher was acting like she had no idea how to do things like the laundry because she had two dads. One of the assholes in class asked her what it’s like going home to two… well, she didn’t want to think about the word that he used. 

“I mean it was fine I guess?” Gabi said, starting to feel agitated. She didn’t deserve to get bullied because of them. Was this all their fault? No, it was the assholes at school. But if it wasn’t for them she wouldn’t get bullied in the first place. 

“Are you sure? You can talk to us.” Reiner said gently, moving to put a hand on her shoulder. Gabi jerked away and frowned again. Of course she can talk to them, but they aren’t the ones who can fix anything. This is all their fault. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine, leave me alone and stop bothering me!” Gabi snapped, Bert immediately scowling at the tone she was using. Reiner seemed hurt at the snap and pulled his hand away. 

“Gabi, I don’t like this attitude of yours,” Bert said lowly, putting his food down. Reiner’s eyes kept darting back and forth between the two of them. Gabi rolled her eyes at Bert. “Did you just roll your eyes at me, young lady?” 

“So what if I did?” Gabi challenged, staring down Bert. 

“Gabi, you’re going to stop this foolishness this instant,” Reiner interjected, her turning and looking at him. “Do you understand?” 

“All I said was stop bothering me, do _you_ understand that?” Well, now they were both mad at her instead of just Bert, she could tell. 

“Gabi,” Bert started, being cut off before he could go on. 

“Just shut up! Both of you! Shut up!” 

Reiner stood up and slapped his hand on the table to silence Gabi and Bertholdt, who looked like he was getting ready to say something. “Gabi, go to your room. _Now,_ ” Reiner said, Gabi turning to look at him. “Give me your phone.” 

“What?” Gabi started to shy away, unused to Reiner speaking so forcefully. 

“You heard me. Your room. Now. Give me your phone.” Gabi got up and slammed her chair back into the table, tossing her phone carelessly onto it while she made her leave. She went to her room and slammed the door shut, throwing herself onto her bed. 

All she wanted was a normal family and a normal life. Why was that taken away from her? 

…She could hear Bert and Reiner shuffling around outside after a few minutes. 

“Should we go in and talk to her?” That was Reiner. They probably thought she wouldn’t listen even though they were standing next to her door. 

“…Let’s leave her. She didn’t want to talk about whatever’s bothering her at dinner. I doubt she will now. I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is.” Gabi clutched her pillow closer to her chest. She wanted to scream and yell and be upset with them about everything that had been going on lately. 

But she wanted to feel the comfort of them holding her and telling her they love her and it’s all alright. Disappointment and a tear down her face were all she could muster when the shadows of feet shuffled away from her door. 

  


Gabi’s eyes cracked open. What time was it? …Oh. She couldn’t check her phone, Reiner took it. It was raining out now, and it was black through the window, so obviously still the middle of the night. Her throat was so dry. She eased herself up and opened her door, making her way to the kitchen. 

Her phone sat there on the kitchen table. She checked the time. Two thirty. Bert and Reiner are definitely asleep unless one of them is up using the bathroom. Gabi took her phone and grabbed a cup of water, drinking it and blinking a couple of times. 

Gabi washed out her glass and put it back. She didn’t feel like going back to sleep. She wanted to feel better. Maybe Bert and Reiner could make her feel better. She was wayyyyy past the age of crawling into bed with them to feel better and truthfully, that wasn’t really a comforting option right now anyways. 

Her legs carried her up the stairs of the house to the study Bert and Reiner kept upstairs. Bookshelves and a couple of chairs next to one another lined the room. One could tell who a bookshelf belonged to by looking at them. Close examination of them both revealed some curious preferences: Bert’s had a few books suggesting an interest in cryptids, while Reiner’s shelf teased an interest in ancient Marleyan history. 

Another shelf not “belonging” to either of them kept other books and knick-knacks. There was _The Gabi Book,_ a work in progress she had never actually witnessed either of them working on but curiously always seemed to have recent entries in. A couple of scrapbooks Aunt Karina made in her spare time. Gabi’s hand stretched out at her mother’s pregnancy journal, found in a box Karina had forgotten about. 

She wanted her mom. So bad. And her dad. Gabi moved to sit on Reiner’s chair; it was a little softer than Bert’s. The chairs were close together. Did they ever sit up here and read together? She couldn’t remember actually witnessing them doing so… 

_I first thought I was pregnant when Reiner brought over his boyfriend Bertholdt. They had made some food and I just couldn’t stand the sight of it, which was weird because normally their food is alright._

_The first person I told was Oskar, obviously. We couldn’t be happier, we’ve been trying to get pregnant and it happened so quickly. We are truly blessed. But we won’t be telling Reiner, Bertholdt and Karina until after twelve weeks. I don’t want to miscarry and have to tell them…_

_We’re so excited. I want a little boy. Oskar wants a little girl. I mean. I’d like both but I doubt I’m having twins. I’m not in a rush, though. We always planned on having two or three babies._

_This baby is messing with me. All I want is to eat nachos and so SO much cheese. They say when you’re pregnant you want pickles. The other day I was ready to kick down the door to Reiner’s apartment and DEMAND some of that macaroni Bertholdt makes sometimes._

_The baby is kicking a lot today. They’re going to be feisty, I know it. I can only hope they’re not a complete firecracker._

_The family is divided on boy or girl. Reiner and Oskar say it’s a girl, but Karina and Bertholdt think it’s a boy. I’m inclined to agree with Bertholdt and Karina. Maybe because I want a boy?_

_I’m SO excited to meet my little angel. They’ve been moving around so much lately and my due date feels right around the corner. I love them so much already and I haven’t even met them. Oskar is the same. He keeps hanging around in the nursery with this goofy, giddy look on his face. I’m so excited to meet them. My sweet, sweet little blessing. Gabi if she’s a girl, Henry if he’s a boy._

Gabi looked at the little album of pictures in the back. It was made to have a picture taken every week and put in. Her mom wasn’t a big woman, so the bump became noticeable quickly. 

Why was her mom gone? Why did she have to die? And her dad, too. All she wanted was a normal family. She kept flipping through the pages. 

Reiner and Bertholdt could only sigh when they found her there in the morning because the reality truly was what it was, and she’d never ever get to see her mom and dad because one person decided they hadn’t had too much to drink and decided to drive home. 

  


Gabi kept her paper to herself. She’d felt so withdrawn lately. Different from everyone else. She couldn’t help but look around the classroom while the teacher talked about something about how squares always have so many degrees in their angles… Zofia was here. Udo and Falco should be in biology right about now. 

She swallowed and kept her eyes on Zofia. Her hair was so pretty, a bright blonde. Like actual sunshine. With blue eyes like the sky. Her cheeks burned and she looked back down at the paper she was mindlessly scribbling on. She drew a little heart and put G+Z in it. 

Her mind wandered for a second, someone else crossing her mind. She drew a little heart and put G+F in it. 

Was it Zofia or Falco?? 

She was _supposed_ to like boys wasn’t she? Everyone acted like her parents were a damn sideshow because they were the same gender. And she was a girl and Falco was a boy and that was supposed to be it, right? Falco was such a genuinely _nice_ and caring person, and cute to boot. Especially if he kept looking more and more like his older brother, who was probably the most handsome person she’d ever seen. 

But Zofia was a girl and so pretty and charming and had such a quick wit. But she was a girl too. 

Did Bert and Reiner make her this way? …No. Of course not. They never even crossed her mind when she thought about people she liked. Why would they? But a bunch of people kept asking her if they were turning her gay. She wasn’t gay was she? She liked Falco and he was a boy! But… she liked Zofia and that was… pretty gay. 

Gabi shook her head in her hands. This was too much. 

“I never thought that it would turn out that _she_ was gay,” Gabi’s heart skipped a beat when she overheard Udo and Zofia chatting in the hallway later. Oh. They were talking about some celebrity. 

“I know! I don’t like girls, but if I did, she’d be my dream girl. She’s probably the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen. Her brown eyes are so enchanting…” Zofia sighed. 

“That sounds a little gay…” Udo stuttered for a second when Zofia raised an eyebrow. "N-not that there's anything wrong with that!" 

“Hey! I can think another girl is pretty without being gay. Girls talk about other girls being pretty all the time. You boys have the weirdest hangups.” 

Gabi bit her lip. She wasn’t even in this conversation. Of course Zofia wouldn’t be gay. Maybe it was stupid of her to even think someone like her would have even had a snowflake’s chance in hell with a girl like her anyways. 

Zofia parted ways with Udo, spotting Gabi when she turned around. A warm smile crossed her beautiful face. Like sunshine. It suited her. “Hey, Gabi, what’s up?” 

God, Gabi couldn’t deal with this right now. “Nothing. I… I gotta go…” She turned and walked away as fast as possible. 

She wanted to go home. 

  


She wanted a normal family. And on a rational level, Gabi knew that she was lucky. Sometimes she overheard other students talking about their dads walking out and leaving them behind; something she knew was a reality for Reiner. Some of the older students talked about their parents kicking them out the second they turned eighteen; Bert and Reiner would never, _ever_ do that to her. 

Some other students even made it seem like their parents hated one another, which clearly wasn’t the case for her. Reiner had come in tonight with a big bouquet of flowers and had started giving kisses to Bertholdt for no real reason. “Just because I love you,” he had said. 

Bleh. 

She picked at her food again. Zofia would never like her like that. Bert and Reiner were married and her dads and why did the other kids and some of the teachers make her life more difficult for that? If she and Zofia got married because Zofia maybe did like her would their kids get the same treatment? But it wasn’t their fault… or would it be for being selfish and not marrying a man to keep the kids from being picked on? God, she’d never been so wound up and confused in her life. 

“Gabi,” She glanced up from her plate. Bert’s macaroni. He always made it when she was feeling down. “You’ve barely touched your food…” 

“We’re worried about you, Gabi,” Reiner said, reaching over the table and trying to hold her hand. She jerked away, his expression hurt. “Something is bothering you. Do you feel like we’ll get mad at you?” 

“We promise we won’t be mad. But we can’t help you if we don’t know what’s wrong.” Bert added, eating another bite of his food. 

“You’re gay,” Gabi mumbled, Bertholdt and Reiner raising their brows. Well, yeah. That was obvious enough. “That’s the problem.” 

Bertholdt closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, Reiner shaking his head and putting his head in his hand. 

“Gabi, I don’t know if Karina read you the wrong verse out of her book or what, but Reiner and I being gay isn’t some world-ending thing.” Bert said. Gabi frowned. 

“No! Everyone at school makes fun of me because of you!” Gabi started, unsure of why she felt the need to raise her voice. Maybe so they’ll listen to her. “If I had normal parents things would be different!” 

“We _are_ normal parents, Gabi. We’re just like everyone else, we just so happen to both be men is all,” Reiner said firmly. “Stop raising your voice like this, let’s just talk it out.” 

“You say that, but _I’m_ the one that gets to deal with it! The teachers are mean to me since you and Bert threw a fit with the administration that one time!” Gabi grit her teeth and crossed her arms. “Mom and dad wouldn’t have had to deal with this.” 

“I’m sorry, but your mom and dad aren’t here, so it’s up to me and Reiner to take care of you now. I’m so sorry, I wish they were here too, but they aren’t.” Bert said, keeping his voice level. 

“Oh, you wish they were here too? Is that so you wouldn’t have had to raise me? You two aren’t even the ones who really wanted me!” 

“Gabi, enough of this. We love you so much, don’t go saying things like we don’t want you because you _know_ that’s not true.” 

“Well I don’t want you! I don’t want two dads for parents!” Gabi barked, shoving herself away from the table. “You two are ruining my life!” 

“Gabi Marie Braun!” Both Reiner and Bertholdt stood up from the table, her feeling intimidated by their imposing heights but standing her ground. “What the hell has gotten into you?!” 

“I hate you!” Gabi balled her hands into fists, both of them shaking. “I wish you two died instead of mom and dad! Who’d miss some gay cousin and his boyfriend? Then I’d still have my parents! I’d have siblings! I wish you were dead!” 

It was like all the energy was sucked out of the room in an instant, and Gabi regretted what she said the instant the words left her mouth. Reiner and Bertholdt both closed their mouths. It only took a second for Reiner to breathe in deeply and to choke out a pained sound, tears immediately flowing down his face. 

“Reiner…” Bertholdt started, Reiner immediately turning and going to his bedroom. Bertholdt turned back to Gabi and looked at her. All the anger was replaced with immense sorrow. “Go… go to your room…” 

“Bert…” Gabi was ready to apologize and say she didn’t mean it, him shaking his head and pointing at her room. He turned to make his leave, tears starting to drip down his face. She could tell he was holding his breath while in front of her. 

Fuck. Fuck! 

Gabi went to her room and shut the door behind her softly, going to sit on her bed. She moved to grab Pock the pig off the bookshelf in her room. She hadn’t needed him for years but now she just… needed _something._ She closed her eyes and sat on her bed, leaning her head back against the wall quietly. 

Reiner was sobbing in his bedroom, she could hear him. Bert was too. Hearing her parents crying and knowing she was the cause of it… it was probably one of the absolute worst feelings she’d ever felt. She felt her lip trembling, pulling her knees to her chest to cry. 

Gabi didn’t even notice she had fallen asleep until she woke up with a start, finding herself tucked into her bed with Pock next to her. She didn’t get under the covers. Bert and Reiner must have moved her while she slept. 

They cared about her and she damn well knew it. They wouldn’t kiss her cheeks and call her sweetheart and shower her in gifts and take her on vacations and everything else if they didn’t love her to death. 

It was still dark outside. She rubbed at her eyes and started to move, wanting to stay tucked in and warm but needing to go pee. The bathroom seemed so far away. There was light coming from underneath the door to Bert and Reiner’s room. Gabi frowned and went to the bathroom, then walked back to the door. 

They were still sniffling. It’d been hours now. Gabi leaned close and pressed her ear to the door. 

“She’s not a kid that doesn’t understand… she’s fourteen, Bertl…” 

“I know, I know… Did, did we do something wrong, Reiner? I thought we did a good job avoiding the mistakes our parents made…” Bert sniffled and made a whine. “I love her so much and she doesn’t… she doesn’t…” 

Gabi swallowed and knocked on the door, both the voices suddenly stopping. She could hear surprised gasps when her hand touched the door. 

“Bert? Reiner?” Gabi swallowed and leaned her head against the door. 

“Do you need something?” No sweetheart from Bert. His voice sounded gravelly. Gabi sighed against the door. 

“Can I come in?” Stony silence from the other side of the door. They must be doing that married people thing where they talk to each other without actually saying anything. “…Please?” 

She heard footsteps, then the lock on the door unclicking. Reiner was standing there in his sweatshirt and sweatpants, his face troubled and his eyes rimmed red. 

Gabi looked down. She caused this and she knew it. 

Reiner walked back to his bed, sitting back down on the end of it with Bert. Both of them looked at her with tired eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Bert. I’m sorry, Reiner,” Gabi swallowed thickly and sniffled. “I don’t want you to die… I don’t know why I said something so awful, I know you both love me.” 

“Gabi. We would do anything for you. I would die for you in an instant if I had to. Don’t ever, ever think we only have you because your mom and dad aren’t here. We didn’t think about taking you in. We loved you before you were our girl.” Bert said, running his hand through his hair. Bert and Reiner both stood up and walked over to her, sitting on their knees on the floor. 

They really were a lot taller than her. Gabi sniffled and wiped at her eyes. 

“I know you want me to be happy but I’m so confused and I’m getting bullied at school for having two dads…” Reiner put his hand on Gabi’s shoulder. “There are some other students that call me a queer and a dyke, they say the fags at home ruined me…” 

“Gabi. We can’t be here for you if you don’t tell us what’s wrong. We want to be here for you. That’s part of being a dad,” Reiner inhaled deeply and hugged her, running his hand along her back. “I’m so, so sorry that people are being so cruel to you,” 

Gabi pulled away and looked at Reiner and Bert. “I like another girl… but I’m afraid if I admitted it everyone would say even more stuff about me and you guys,” Gabi choked out a sob. “But it doesn’t even matter anyways because she doesn’t like girls.” 

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Bert said, bringing a hand to her cheek and wiping away the tears with his thumb. “I can’t imagine how much it must hurt. Please know it isn’t your fault and you deserve to be loved.” 

“It doesn’t matter to us if you like boys, or girls. Or both. Or neither. The people who matter and care about you won’t care about things like that,” Reiner put his hand on her shoulder. “Me and Bert. Pieck and Pock and Marcel. Annie. Aunt Karina. Even Falco and Udo and Zofia.” 

“How can you be sure?” Gabi sniffled, Reiner and Bertholdt glancing at one another. 

“We lost people when we came out. It was a different time then. We didn’t think we’d ever be able to even get married. But the ones that really, really love you will stick around. I promise.” Bertholdt kissed Gabi’s cheek. 

“I just want to be normal…” Gabi choked out a sob and started to break down, Reiner and Bertholdt pulling her close while she cried. She wasn’t even sure which of them was the one running their hand on her back. 

“It’s going to be okay, Gabi,” Reiner said, breathing against her. “Even if it hurts now, I promise everything is going to be okay.” 

“I don’t hate you…” 

“We know,” Bert pulled away from her. “We just wish you would’ve talked to us. It hurts to see you hurting. I would do anything for you, you know that?” 

“I know,” Gabi breathed in heavily and gritted her teeth, her eyes burning. “I’m sorry...” 

“We love you. You need rest, dear,” Reiner stood, Bert following suit. They led Gabi back to her room, pulling back the covers and stroking her hair. “Rest. We’ll let you sleep in as long as you want to, okay?” 

“I don’t wish you were dead. I’m sorry,” Gabi sniffled again, Bert picking up Pock and handing him to her. “I’m glad you’re my dads…” 

“You’ve been having a really hard time lately. Tomorrow Reiner and I will take you out and do something special for you, okay? Think about what you want to do. We’ll see you in the morning.” 

“Okay. I… I love you.” 

“We know, dear. Love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not super happy with my writing this chapter but I hope it was alright!
> 
> I have a couple of other requests in the request box. I'll be filling all but one of them (no infidelity in this au, sorry to the requester. The other one is good though, it's in the queue) so feel free if you have an idea to drop it in the box.
> 
> Feel free to ask me anything, shoot me a DM on twitter if you wanna talk this au a little or anything else, drop a request in the request box. I like engaging with you guys hehe.


	16. Period

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request for Gabi's first period  
> Gabi is 12, Reiner is 35, Bertholdt is 34

Ah, puberty. The blossoming of youth into adulthood. Awkward, and full of changes both physical and mental. Growing hair in new places, getting taller, development of sexual organs, development of many a smartass attitude. 

“Uh… Bert?” Bertholdt glanced down at Gabi, her fidgeting with her hands. He put down the TV remote and set it down on the end table, raising her brows in acknowledgement. “I… uh…” 

“Something wrong, sweetheart?” Bertholdt patted the couch next to him, Gabi looking at the spot but not moving to sit down. 

“I bled into the toilet…” Gabi turned away, having a hard time meeting Bertholdt’s eyes. 

Oh lord, oh jesus, it was happening and he and Reiner had already agreed they couldn’t bring Pieck in on everything and they already used her to handle the whole bra situation. She needed to know that she could talk to them and be comfortable with them and how was she supposed to feel comfortable if they couldn’t talk to her about anything? 

“Oh. Okay. Sit down here for a second,” Bertholdt got up and went upstairs, Reiner sitting in the study. He was working on _The Gabi Book,_ putting in a picture of her from about a week ago. “Reiner.” 

“Bertl. Something wrong? You’re sweating again and I know you aren’t winded from walking up the stairs.” Reiner looked back down at the book, closing it. He put the book back on the shelf. 

“Gabi’s gotten her first period.” Reiner turned around quickly and stared at Bertholdt. 

“Just now?” Bertholdt nodded, Reiner looking down at the floor. “But we don’t have anything for her…” 

“Well one of us needs to go buy her everything she needs…” Bertholdt scratched the back of his head. “And one of us needs to go and talk to her like… now. If we leave her alone after she tells us something like that she might think she did something wrong.” 

“You’re right. Uh… I’ll go to the store. I’ll stop by the Galliard’s and see if Pieck is home to help me pick stuff out.” Bertholdt nodded and went back down the stairs with Reiner, Reiner going into his bedroom to grab his wallet and coat. 

“Gabi. Girls bleed from their vaginas when they’re ready to have babies. It’s called your period.” 

“I know, Bert. You told me about it a long time ago…” 

Gabi looked at the ground and bit her lip hearing Bert say the word vagina, not meeting his gaze. “So the special nest is called your uterus and you have eggs inside it. You bleed when your egg doesn’t get fertilized and you don’t have a baby. You’ve probably noticed other changes. Like hair where you didn’t have any before, or…” 

“Bert. Can you _not,_ please…” Gabi crossed her arms and rubbed her hands up and down. Bert looked at her awkwardly, scratching behind his head. 

“Sorry. Your period is normal. You don’t need to be embarrassed about it. Almost every woman has them. Even Annie and Pieck have them.” 

“What if everyone knows I’m having a period?” It was embarrassing! Bert said she didn’t need to be embarrassed but he didn’t have to worry about it. 

“Nobody will know if you’re on your period unless you tell them.” Bertholdt frowned at his own words. “I guess unless you bled through your clothes?” Bertholdt cringed at his own words, Gabi looking worried at that. “You buy things to keep that from happening.” 

“Things?” Gabi frowned. Bertholdt chewed his cheek. Reiner would certainly be useful for backup right now. 

“You can use a thing called a tampon. You put it inside your vagina and it, uh… absorbs it.” 

“Bert. Can you _please_ not say vagina?” 

  


Reiner stared at the wall of supplies and blinked. He never really thought about it. Pieck wasn’t home to help, Porco had told him Pieck was presenting some research to a board. And Annie was busy at work, teaching Muay Thai until late that night. And even though Historia and Ymir were friends with him and Bert, they didn’t know Gabi nearly well enough for him to feel comfortable involving them. 

Guess he’d better buy brand name for now. Tampons? Did she need regular or super absorbent? Wouldn’t it be better if all tampons were super absorbent all the time? Wasn’t that sort of the point? Oh well. He tossed boxes of each in the cart. Wait… did she need plastic or cardboard? Well, the plastic ones had a prettier box. Was that really something to go off of? Eh, he wasn't sure. He tossed both boxes into the cart. 

Pads… Overnight? She’d bleed overnight, he supposed. Into the cart. Heavy flow? That made sense. Into the cart. Regular pads? Into the cart. Oh, these regulars are different. Wings? Into the cart. Panty liners? Would she want scented or unscented?? He tossed each into the cart. 

“Do you need help?” Reiner turned around and saw a woman standing there with a cocked eyebrow. 

“No! I got it…” Reiner shuffled away, the woman shrugging her shoulders and grabbing a box of tampons. “Don’t girls always say in movies and stuff they want chocolate and stuff on their periods?” Reiner mumbled to himself, trying to think. His mother did an excellent job hiding her periods his whole life, he thought. 

Wait… why the _hell_ didn’t he think to just call his mom before he came all the way out here? 

Well, it was all already in his cart now and he wasn’t about to take the time to wait for her. 

Reiner made his way to the grocery part of the store, tossing in a package of chocolate chip cookies. Gabi liked those fudge cookies too. And chocolate bars, and some ice cream wouldn’t hurt. Wait… she needed something healthy too. Wellll… she was going to be cramping and wanting something to feel better. Fruit snacks are fruity and fruit is healthy! He put in a couple of boxes of fruit snacks. 

Bertholdt might not agree with his logic there but it wasn’t even about logic at this point. 

He pulled up his cart to the cashier, loading everything up onto the belt. The cashier glanced at Reiner, then to the belt. Five boxes of tampons, four jumbo packs of different kinds of pads, two boxes of panty liners, four packages of cookies, six chocolate bars, three boxes of fruit snacks, and a bottle of coke for himself. 

The casher took in the sight and glanced back up at Reiner, whose expression dared him to say something about it. The pair of them stayed silent, Reiner watching the total go up on the register with each rung up item. He pulled out his debit card and paid for everything, taking the bags and loading up the car. 

Gabi hadn’t seen what all he’d bought yet. She wouldn’t notice one missing. Reiner reached into one of the bags and took a candy bar, eating it while he drove. 

  


“PMS doesn’t turn you into a crazy person, Gabi. It just means you might feel a little moody. You might get sad or angry more quickly... I think.” 

“Then how come guys in movies and TV always say their sisters and wives and stuff are PMSing when they throw stuff and scream?” Bertholdt ran his hand down his face. 

“That’s just TV, probably written by guys who don’t know what they’re talking about. Since when do you believe everything you hear on TV anyways?” Bertholdt looked seriously at Gabi. 

“I mean I don’t know. Does this mean I’m a woman now? Don’t sometimes people say you become a woman when you have a period?” 

“Gabi. You aren’t an adult. Don’t let people make you feel like your having a period means you have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.” 

The door to the house opened, Reiner coming in with a few grocery bags. He took them all to the dining room table, putting them all out and putting up all the snack. 

“I got you some snacks to feel better, Gabi,” Reiner blinked at all the period stuff. It didn’t look like it all took up as much space when he was in the store but now it just looked… excessive. Bertholdt raised a brow at him, Gabi blinking at the small mountain on the table. 

“Uh… what’s the difference between all these? Which one do I need?” 

Reiner could only stutter, Bertholdt unable to answer as well. 

Guess they had to call in someone. 

  


“Uh. We’ll be upstairs, I think Gabi’s done with us trying to help…” Bertholdt scratched behind his head, Karina nodding and watching the two of them head on up the stairwell. Gabi fidgeted at the dining table, reading the box of tampons in front of her. She ate some of the fudge cookies Reiner had bought while she read. 

Karina walked to the dining table, pulling out a chair and sitting with Gabi. 

“Bert and Reiner don’t know what they’re talking about.” Gabi said bluntly, closing the package of cookies and getting up to put them away. She got a juice box from the fridge and some fruit snacks from the box Reiner had opened and eaten out of on the way home. 

“Of course they don’t. They’re men and they never had girlfriends or anyone else really dealing with periods.” Karina looked at the mountain of supplies. “But at least they tried.” 

“I don’t want to try sticking things inside me, Aunt Karina. Won’t that hurt?” 

“You don’t have to use these if you don’t want to, dear. They don’t hurt but for you it might be weird,” Karina plucked the box of tampons from Gabi’s hands and handed her a pack of the pads. “You can stick these on your underwear. They’ll keep you from bleeding on your clothes.” 

“Why did Reiner buy so many?” 

“It looks like he just bought one of everything. Which meant he didn’t know the difference and wanted to be safe,” Karina blinked. All brand-name too. He probably dropped a bit of money today. “Do you take a purse to school?” 

“I mean, no… but I guess I could.” 

“You don’t need to. If you can carry your backpack or a purse or a little bag around school, you can just put a couple of these in and you’ll be fine. You can change them in the bathroom. You know the little metal box on the wall? Those are for putting pads and tampons in when you’re done.” 

“Oh. I wasn’t sure what those were there for. I looked inside them a couple of times but they were always empty.” 

“And you can sleep in these overnight ones he bought. If you do bleed through, it isn’t the end of the world. I promise almost every girl does sometimes. It might be embarrassing but nobody will remember.” 

“I’d rather not at all...” 

“Well, that’s why you use all of these things,” Karina stretched out her arms and looked through all the stuff. She’d give Reiner credit where it was due, he was thorough. “Did he get you a heating pad?” 

“No? I don’t think so?” Gabi looked through the mountain with her aunt. “Do I need one?” 

“You don’t need it. It just helps you feel better whenever you start hurting. I can go to my house and get you mine. I don’t have periods anymore.” 

“I thought you had periods forever?” 

“No. When you get older you can’t have babies anymore and you stop having periods. That’s called menopause.” 

“There’s too much to remember…” 

“I don’t know why Bert and Reiner didn’t just call me. You have my phone number in your phone, just send me a text message if you need anything but it’s too weird to ask your parents.” 

“Thanks, Aunt Karina. Which ones should I use for now?” Karina grabbed the regular pads and handed them to Gabi. “I’m glad Reiner bought all those cookies. I’m not really hurting like Bert and Reiner think I am though.” 

Karina laughed. “I won’t tell. I’ll tell Reiner that you _really wished_ he got some cinnamon rolls but didn’t want to seem ungrateful.” 

“Huh? …Oh. Ohhhh…” Gabi nodded and looked at Karina, getting a cheeky grin in response. “I like the way you think, Aunt Karina.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my mom died when I was 11, and my dad had to deal with my first period. I didn't have an actual proper talk and I freaked out so bad, and he didn't buy me anything so I messed all my stuff. 
> 
> Anyways enough about me. To the requester, I hope this was along the lines of what you wanted!  
> I've written all the requests in my request box, feel free to send your ideas in. Not just for this au (though I like requests for this au, you guys have good ideas).


	17. Morning with Bert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed that I have a bit more of Gabi with Reiner and less Gabi with Bert, so I wrote this to even it out a little.  
> Gabi is 8 months old

Bertholdt wiped at his eyes, glancing to his side and seeing Reiner still sleeping soundly in bed. He became aware of his sleeping position as he awoke, noticing it was Reiner’s legs under the covers he was looking at next to his head; his feet rested on the pillows at the head of the bed, his toes brushing against Reiner’s hair. How’d that happen? 

Bertholdt stretched out and stood, scratching his face and surveying the room. Reiner was out like a light, his chest rising and falling steadily. After the situation a couple of months ago when Reiner finally just broke down, they agreed to let him sleep in on Saturdays. Bertholdt slept in on Sundays, so they both got one day a week. 

He made his best effort to get up without waking Reiner, slipping out of bed and watching for movement. Reiner didn’t stir, his breathing still steady. A soft snore came from him, Reiner rolling and turning onto his other side. Good thing he didn’t turn a few minutes earlier or he’d have gotten a face full of foot. 

It took so much strength not to go over and kiss his boyfriend’s temple. Bertholdt got dressed, pulling on clothing he didn’t mind getting dirty. Gabi needed to be cleaned up and taken care of. Preferably before Reiner woke up. 

Bertholdt made his way to the kitchen, grabbing the can of formula and one of Gabi’s bottles. He added the water and the formula, shaking it to make sure the powder mixed up thoroughly. 

“There’s my little sweetheart,” Bertholdt said softly, Gabi sleeping in her crib. He gently woke her up, her eyes easing open. “I got you, I got you…” Bertholdt mumbled to himself, picking her up and holding her to his chest. He moved her to the changing table, cleaning Gabi up and getting her a new diaper. 

“You’re getting chunky, you little piggy,” Bertholdt teased, Gabi smiling at him and reaching for his nose. He sat down in the rocking chair, picking up the bottle he had put down and bringing it to her mouth. “My god, I’ve never seen a cuter little baby. I love you, dear.” 

“Ah…” Gabi cooed at Bertholdt. She hadn’t said her first word yet. He and Reiner were on high alert for it. He wanted to be there for it, but the reality was with him at work all day during the week he’d probably miss it… but Reiner would tell him all about it. 

“I know, I know,” Bertholdt said when he pulled the emptied bottle away from Gabi, her reaching her hand out for the bottle. “Here, take this.” Bertholdt put a little stuffed bear in her hands, Gabi chewing on its ear. He had rolled his eyes when Reiner first gave the toy to Gabi, affectionately calling it Beartholdt. “You’re going to need to take a bath soon, darling…” 

“Ah!” 

“That sounds good. We can go ahead and do it while Reiner sleeps.” Bertholdt packed Gabi to the bathroom, grabbing a new outfit for her. The inflatable duck tub stayed in the bathtub, Bertholdt filling it with water and making absolutely sure it wasn’t too hot for Gabi’s delicate skin. He stripped her down and put her in the water. “Do you want your seahorse?” 

“Mm.” Gabi took the rubber seahorse and looked at it, then put it down and splashed in the water. Bertholdt laughed, some of the water getting on his old t-shirt. “Ba.” Gabi looked at Bertholdt and repeated herself. “Ba.” 

“Bert. I’m Bert, sweetheart.” Bertholdt took a clean washcloth, cleaning her head and getting behind her ears. “Your hair is really coming in now, isn’t it?” He cleaned her hair, taking a cup and pouring the lukewarm water on her head. Gabi laughed at the water being poured on her, the suds of the soap coming off. “Here, take your little duck.” 

Gabi took the duck and hit it against the floor of the little tub, splashing the water again while Bertholdt used the washcloth to clean her body. “You like splashing don’t you?” Gabi stared at him, then splashed the water again. “I guess you answered my question, huh?” 

Bertholdt pulled her out of the water and dried her off with the towel he kept handy. “Hey… stop that,” Bertholdt frowned when Gabi resisted him putting on the outfit, jerking her arms away. “Cut it out, Gabi.” He sighed in frustration, finally getting her into her outfit. 

“Let’s get you some food,” He plopped Gabi into her high chair, putting the little table down. He gave her some banana slices, her chewing them and making a mess. Right… usually Reiner washed her at night because she was a messy eater. He could just wash her face later. “What do you want today?” 

“Mmm…” Gabi made a sound while she ate her banana slices. She watched Bertholdt putter around the kitchen, getting himself a banana and a glass of water. 

“Good idea, oatmeal apple cereal sounds good to me too,” He prepared the cereal, mixing in the water and putting the bowl in front of her. “I’m just going to wait for Rei, then I’ll eat.” 

He could at least pretend Gabi was a good conversationalist. Talking to kids was supposed to be good for them anyways. 

“Didn’t even make me any coffee?” Bertholdt jumped slightly at the unexpected voice, laced with exhaustion. Reiner was scratching at his beard, him in a t-shirt and his underwear. 

“Reiner! Sorry, I was feeding and washing Gabi…” Reiner kissed the top of Bertholdt’s head when he walked past him, moving to fill the coffee pot with water. “Didn’t even put pants on?” 

“Hng,” Reiner grunted, putting the coffee into the filter and the water into the coffee maker. “I put on underwear. That’s all I can do after you wrecked me last night and didn’t even make me coffee,” The smirk on Reiner’s face betrayed the completely serious tone of voice he was using. “Love them and leave them. Such a bad boy, Bertl…” 

“Oh, stop it. Gabi’s been causing trouble all morning.” 

“Really?” Reiner moved to press a kiss to Gabi’s cheek. “A troublemaker. She’s growing up to be like you,” Reiner watched the coffee get made. “Do you want some of this?” 

“Please,” Bertholdt held the spoon in his hand, feeding Gabi her cereal. “Good? Yummy?” Gabi clapped her hands and laughed. 

“You already washed her?” Reiner asked, watching the food dribble off her mouth. The coffee maker finished the pot, him pouring his cup of black coffee and dumping in sugar and creamer into Bertholdt’s. 

“I know it was early. I was thinking about that but I wanted to get it done while you were asleep.” Bertholdt took the coffee and drank it, the drink balm for the soul. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Bertholdt grimaced at Reiner’s black coffee, especially watching Reiner just drink it like it was nothing. “Unless she has a blowout there’s nothing she needs another bath for anyways.” 

“You know so much more about caring for Gabi than I do…” Bertholdt said wistfully, Reiner shaking his head. 

“No, I just have her all day. You’re doing great, Bertl.” Reiner put his hand on Gabi’s head, rubbing it and messing up her hair. 

“Thanks, Reiner,” Bertholdt pushed his chair out from the table, getting up to pick up Gabi from the highchair. He set her on his leg, bouncing her up and down. “Someone’s a happy baby,” 

“Have anything you want to do today?” Reiner finished off his coffee and poured himself more. “Besides me? Hehe…” 

“I hope you don’t plan on talking like that in front of Gabi when she’s older.” 

“Of course not. I’ve slowed down and you know it.” 

“I know. Thanks. I was thinking you and I could run to the fabric store later? You said you wanted to make Gabi a couple of little dresses and Karina was going to help you.” 

“That’d be nice… but fabric is expensive. We can go buy fabric when we have a little more money. Want to take Gabi to the park?” 

“That sounds good. We can bundle her up to keep her warm and play in the snow,” Bertholdt kissed the top of Gabi’s head again. “Isn’t that right, dear?” 

“Ah!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a couple of requests to work on, I'll be back to work tomorrow night so I can survive in this capitalistic hellscape and then I'll be back!


	18. Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request for Bertholdt coming out to his parents  
> Bertholdt is 16/20/36

“Hmm… I love you, Reiner…” Bertholdt sighed contentedly and pulled his pants back up, his breaths evening out while Reiner finished making himself decent again. “That was great.” 

Wednesday nights when Reiner could take his mom’s car really were the best. 

“Yeah… I’m still trying to think of a story to tell mom about youth group so she doesn’t get suspicious, though. Any ideas?” Reiner scooted up to Bertholdt and rested his head on his shoulder. Bertholdt grabbed Reiner’s hand and kissed it. 

“Just say bible study. That’s general enough.” Bertholdt said, Reiner nodding against his shoulder. Reiner moved to lay in the backseat, resting his head in Bertholdt’s lap. 

“Yeah. I hate lying to my mom so much… but we’d never be able to have alone time like this.” 

“Does she know we’re seeing one another?” Bertholdt ran his fingers through Reiner’s hair. Reiner reached for Bertholdt’s wrist, unclasping one of the spiky wristbands and putting it on his own wrist. 

“I mean, I think she knows. As much time as we spend together and the fact that she knows I’m gay… I feel like it’s sort of implied. I haven’t directly _told her_ though.” The wristband didn’t look as good on him as it did on Bertholdt. He took it back off and gave it to Bertholdt, the other reclasping it. 

“I still love these. I feel like I need to tell my parents I’m gay… I don’t know if dad will care but I know mom will,” Bertholdt flipped open his black razr and checked his text messages. “I don’t think they actually care about anything except me being a picture-perfect son. They hate the way I look.” 

“I’m surprised they don’t know. ‘Course mom had no idea until I told her.” 

“Literally everyone knows except my parents. You,” 

“Really? I had no idea you were gay.” Reiner teased, Bertholdt rolling his eyes. 

“Yeah. The condom is in the bag there if you want proof. Anyways, you and our close friends know. I feel like such a hypocrite…” Bertholdt ran his hand along his face, avoiding his eyes so his eyeliner didn’t smear. “I made such a huge deal about you accepting being gay a few months ago but I haven’t even worked up the nerve to talk to my parents.” 

“That’s not really the same. Dating someone who hasn’t accepted being gay and having parents who wouldn’t get it are different,” A silence settled over them in the car, Reiner tapping Bertholdt’s wrist after a minute. “I know I’ve said it a lot but I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you with all that. I feel a lot happier now that I’ve started being okay with who I am.” 

“Thanks. I love you. Who’d have thought Porco of all people would be the one to help you out with that?” Reiner made a discontented sound. 

“Let’s not talk about that whole thing. Every time I see a cop I get nervous now.” Reiner closed his eyes, his expression tense. Bertholdt rubbed circles into Reiner’s belly. “I did miss him, though… I’m glad I’m talking to him again.” 

“Reiner. I think… I’m going to talk to my parents tomorrow night. Dad’s coming back from a business trip tonight and he’s going to be tired. If mom flips out he might keep her calm.” 

“Do you think so?” Reiner asked nervously. “Isn’t your mom more religious than my mom?” 

“No? I don’t think so…” Bertholdt scratched his chin in thought. “Your mom takes you to church and she prays for your food and volunteers and all that. My mom doesn’t ever go to church. She just quotes the bible sometimes to prove points.” 

“Oh. I don’t think she and my mom would get along, then.” Reiner adjusted so he was sitting next to Bertholdt again. He nuzzled into Bertholdt’s shoulder. “If it goes badly, just text me or call me after and we can talk, okay?” 

Bertholdt nodded. “Okay.” 

  


School went fine, Bertholdt thought to himself. 

Reiner, Annie and Porco all got detention and Pieck was out getting her braces removed, so he had to eat lunch with Historia and Ymir. Apparently Reiner said “fuck” at the exact moment the rest of the class decided to go silent, then when Reiner was given detention Annie said that was fucking stupid. Porco threw Eren over a table and even though Eren probably deserved it Porco still had to eat the punishment. 

He’d wanted to walk home with Reiner, but it is what it is. About twenty minutes after he had left Reiner texted him and told him he was out of detention and was going to go hang out with Porco and Annie. 

They were probably going to go to the arcade. 

Bertholdt opened the door to his house, noting his mom’s car was gone. His dad’s was still there, he might be home. Oh, there was a note on the table. 

_Going with your dad to the bookstore! Be home soon. There are some tuna salad sandwiches in the fridge._

Bertholdt went and ate one of the sandwiches. And half of a second one. Normally he’d eat more, but eating with Ymir and Historia meant he didn’t get as much in word-wise, and he cleaned his tray at school. 

He texted Reiner, getting a confirmation that they were at the arcade. Porco was pissed off that Annie had beat his high score on the dig-dug machine. Sounds like they were all having fun. 

The front door opened, Bertholdt’s mother and father coming in. “Bertholdt? Are you home?” 

“Yeah, mom, I’m in the living room.” Bertholdt flipped his cell phone shut and put it back in his pocket. He turned the TV down whenever his parents came in. His dad walking slowly, closing his eyes when he sat down in his chair. 

“How was school today?” His dad got out, turning and looking at Bertholdt. He glanced down at Bertholdt’s wristband but didn’t say anything. His mom put down a couple of books on the table. Looked like cookbooks, from what Bertholdt could tell. His mom really was a great cook. 

“It was okay. I got a bit of homework, but tomorrow is Friday so I shouldn’t be getting too much more.” Bertholdt breathed in deeply, his stomach starting to twist. “Hey, can I talk to you guys?” 

“About what?” His father reached for the TV remote, changing the channel. 

“Uh, it’s important. Can you turn off the TV?” Bertholdt rubbed his arm, his mother and father picking up on his changed demeanor. His mom went to sit on the sofa, on the side closest to her husband’s chair. 

“Bertholdt… what did you do? Did you get detention again?” Bertholdt rolled his eyes at that. 

“No, dad. I haven’t had detention in forever,” Not one this school year, anyways. “It’s about me.” 

“You didn’t get a girl pregnant, did you?” His mom’s eyes widened. “What else would be so serious you’d sit us down? Oh god, Bertholdt…” 

“What?! No!” If there was literally anything that was the opposite of what he planned on telling them that would be it. “I, uh, I’m… gay.” 

“…What?” His dad blinked at him, his mom’s eyes raising up. 

“You’re just confused, Bertholdt,” His mom turned to his dad. “I knew he’d have a gay phase, I told you months ago this was going to happen. I knew when he started painting his nails and wearing that eyeliner.” 

“What? Mom, I’m not going through a phase, it’s real.” Bertholdt’s brows furrowed, hurt that his mom didn’t believe him. Him dressing like this had nothing to do with anything. 

“You just like the idea of men, you don’t want to actually be in a relationship with one. If you try to date a man you’ll realize you don’t know what you’re talking about.” She spoke very matter-of-factly. His father nodded. 

“Mila is right, Bertholdt. Actually dating someone is different from thinking you like someone. Once you meet a nice girl you’ll realize you’re just confused. If you think you can’t find anyone your mother and I can find a nice girl for you.” Well, there was the kick in the gut. His dad was the one he was hoping would be accepting. 

“I _am_ in a relationship though! I know exactly what I’m talking about!” Bertholdt started to raise his voice, his parents looking surprised. 

“What do you mean you’re in a relationship? With who?” His dad asked, his brow furrowing. “Why wouldn’t you tell us something important like that?” 

“Maybe because you don’t believe me when I tell you I’m gay?” Bertholdt felt his lip start to quiver. “I’m in love with Reiner and we’ve been dating for about a year and a half.” 

“Reiner?!” His mom’s eyes went wide. “You mean the same Reiner that’s been over here before?” 

“No, mom, the other one.” 

“You’re out of your mind, Bertholdt. Even if you are gay, which you’re not, you’re just confused, you can do way better than _him._ ” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“He’s just not cut from the same cloth as us. You know. We all went to college and you’re going to be going. It’d be a miracle if Reiner wound up going to school.” Bertholdt’s dad shook his head at that, drawing Bertholdt’s eye. 

“I don’t know about all that, Mila, he’s seemed okay from what I can tell,” His eyes went back to his son. “I still don’t think you should be with him. What if you want kids someday? He can’t give you that.” 

“Then I’ll have a kid with him! You don’t have to knock up a girl to have a family!” 

“You know that gay people go to hell, right? Reiner should know that damn well, as much as he goes to church,” Mila breathed steadily and looked seriously at her son. “If he loved you he wouldn’t drag you to hell with him. He’d let you go and just let himself burn.” 

“Leave Reiner out of this!” Bertholdt gritted his teeth, his mother frowning at his tone. “He loves me…” 

“Bertholdt, you’re just a teenager. You have no idea how the world works. I’m going to let you keep going with your phases because you’re a smart boy. You’ll come around. I just want an apology when you come home with your girlfriend after all this is over.” Bertholdt’s mother stood up, walking over to the table where she set down the cookbooks. 

“I can’t believe you two…” Bertholdt mumbled to himself, wiping at his eyes. His dad looked at him sadly. 

“It’s okay, Bertholdt. We still love you. No matter what sort of teenaged phases you have, we love you.” 

Bertholdt didn’t even respond, instead running up the stairs to his bedroom and laying on his side, away from the door. Tears dripped out his eyes, his eyes burning when he closed them tight. His phone vibrated in his pocket; looks like Reiner sent a text. 

_How did it go? Have you talked to them yet?_

Bertholdt sent a sad face but nothing else, pulling the pillow over his head and crying into it. 

  


“How long are you going to be playing these games, Bertholdt?” Bertholdt ran his hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t mind your foolishness when you were sixteen, but you’re twenty now. You need to get it together.” 

“I don’t know what you expect me to say, mom. We’re at the same place we’ve been the past four years.” Bertholdt crossed his arms, meeting her gaze defiantly. 

“You need to stop running around with him! Now you’re saying you’ve moved in with him? Do you really expect us to pay for you to live in sin like that?” 

“Don’t even start with me on the sin stuff. Karina doesn’t care that we’re living together and she’s way more religious than you like pretending to be.” 

“Don’t talk back to your mother like that,” His father got out, breathing heavily. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re only twenty.” 

“So when am I going to know what I’m talking about? You both go on about me being your smart boy and all when I agree with you but as soon as I don’t do what you want I don’t know what I’m talking about!” 

“I’m not going to be supporting Reiner! He wants you to take care of him because your family has money!” Mila said, frowning. “How much is the rent at this place you two are supposedly moving into?” 

“That’s none of your business! If anything he’s supporting me way more than you’re supporting me! He works whenever he’s not in class.” 

“Really now? If he’s working and you’re so set on this foolishness, I guess you don’t need our money anymore!” His mom threatened, Bertholdt grinding his teeth when she spoke. “You need to go ahead and find yourself a nice girl. You’d have such beautiful children and have a beautiful family.” 

“I don’t need a woman! Christ, how many times have I told you that? Do you care about anything other than me knocking up some wife? Would this be different if I were able to knock up Reiner? That's so stupid!” Bertholdt turned to his father. “Why are you being so passive, dad? You never defend Reiner and you never defend me. You can’t possibly agree with mom on all this?” 

“When I married your mother I made a promise to stand beside her,” Bertholdt felt his stomach drop at his father’s words. “You need to see the light and stop wasting your time. Reiner is dragging you down.” 

Bertholdt sniffled, a scowl on his face. “Fine then! See if I need you!” He got up and stormed out the front door of his parent’s house, his mother not going after him and his father unable to do so. He checked the time on the clock whenever he got into the car. Reiner should be off work now. 

He sped home, parking in the parking lot of the apartment complex they had just moved into. Reiner was in the apartment putting together a cheap bookshelf they had bought whenever he opened the door, feeling his eyes burning. 

“Hey, Bertl, now that you’re here can you hand me that screwdriver?” Reiner asked, not looking up when he spoke. After a moment he looked up from the directions at Bertholdt, his expression dropping. “Bertholdt? Are you okay?” He stood quickly and walked over to his boyfriend, pulling him into a hug. “It’ll be okay, Bertl. Whatever it is, I’m here.” Bertholdt held him tighter, tears dripping onto the collar of Reiner’s shirt. 

“Thank you, Reiner…” 

  


“I like another girl… but I’m afraid if I admitted it everyone would say even more stuff about me and you guys,” Gabi cried, Bertholdt’s heart breaking when she spoke. “But it doesn’t even matter anyways because she doesn’t like girls…” 

He felt his stomach tighten at her words, at her tears. All of a sudden he was reminded of a time he was just a little bit older than her, standing in his parent’s living room arguing with his mom and dad. He had cried so much after he talked to them. It damaged their relationship permanently. There was one thing he had really wanted to hear from his parents that they never said. 

“Please know this isn’t your fault and you deserve to be loved.” He wiped away her tears with his thumb, and kissed her cheek when she laid bare her feelings. 

She shivered in his and Reiner’s arms, and it broke his heart seeing her so distressed. But if he could be there for her, maybe he could make it hurt just a little less. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the last bit referenced the au chapter but I wasn't sure how else to wrap up this chapter hehe. Oh well.


	19. Sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request for one of the parents getting sick  
> Gabi is 6, Reiner is 29, Bert is 28
> 
> (40.4C = 104.7F)

“I don’t want it! I don’t want it!!” Bertholdt frowned in irritation at Gabi’s whining, tugging on her arm when she tried to dead-weight herself to avoid being moved. He wanted to yell at her to just fucking stop but she was a kid and getting angry and yelling at kids wasn’t productive or helpful. 

“You have to get the shot, Gabi. I’m getting it too, we can be brave together, okay?” He got frustrated and scooped Gabi up, her squirming when he did. He felt his cheeks redden when he noticed other people watching him handling Gabi, suddenly feeling self-conscious of his parenting ability. 

“Noooo! I don’t want them to put a needle in me!” 

“You have to, Gabi! Reiner is really sick and you need to get a flu shot.” Bertholdt carried her into the waiting room, signing himself and Gabi in and sitting with her to keep her from freaking out. She never did like needles. What kid does, though? 

“If Reiner is sick how come he isn’t getting a shot?” Gabi asked, Bertholdt shaking his head. He didn’t look very happy. He had his hand on his chin the way he did when something was bothering him. 

“Reiner is already sick so him getting a shot won’t help. But we aren’t sick yet and the shot will help keep us healthy.” Gabi read the kid’s book on the shelf in the waiting room, kicking her legs back and forth while they waited to get called back. 

“Is Reiner going to be okay?” Gabi asked, standing up when Bertholdt told her to. He grabbed her hand and started leading her back to the doctor. “Bert… I don’t wanna get a shot!” 

“Here, I’ll get my shot first so you know it’ll be okay. Okay?” The doctor seemed understanding of Bertholdt’s situation, giving him the flu shot and putting the band-aid on his arm. Bertholdt held Gabi’s hand while the doctor gave her the shot, her making a yelping sound when the needle pricked her. “There, all over! That wasn’t too hard was it?” 

“That hurt…” The doctor laughed and gave her a lollypop, Gabi accepting it eagerly. The two of them walked out of the doctor’s office and to the car, Bertholdt taking them to the grocery store. “Bert?” 

“Yes, sweetheart?” 

“You didn’t say if Reiner was going to be okay.” Bertholdt glanced over and looked at Gabi, her sucking on her lollypop enthusiastically. 

“Yeah… Reiner’s going to be just fine. We’re just going to buy some things to make him feel better.” 

“Me and you should give him kisses! That always makes Reiner happy.” Gabi chirped, Bertholdt smiling at her perceived solution to the problem. 

“We can’t kiss Reiner right now, Gabi. He’s really sick and if we kiss him that might make us sick too.” They pulled into the store, Bertholdt grabbing a cart and heading to the soup aisle, grabbing soups he knew would be easy for Reiner to digest. Medicine, some fruits, applesauce, tea… 

“How long until Reiner is better, Bert?” Gabi tossed some snacks for herself into the cart, Bertholdt noticing but only putting a couple of things back. 

“It shouldn’t be too long. Reiner will be better and he’ll be back to his usual self before you know it.” 

  


“You’ve been sick for a week now, Reiner… I’m worried about you,” Bertholdt ran his thumb over the back of Reiner’s palm, his husband blinking blearily at him and coughing a deep, guttural cough. He shivered, his head pounding and throat raw. “Here, let me take your temperature again.” 

“I still have a fever, Bertl… that hasn’t changed.” Reiner coughed again, closing his eyes. Bertholdt tapped his arm, Reiner opening his eyes back and seeing a bottle of water pressed to his face. He let Bertholdt give him the water, drinking it until the bottle was pulled away. Bertholdt ran a hand through Reiner’s hair, finding it sweaty. “Just wanna get back to work… wanna spend time with you and Gabi…” 

“Gabi misses you too, Reiner…” Bertholdt put some hand sanitizer on. “Let me take your temperature. It hasn’t gone down in days,” He put the back of his hand on Reiner’s forehead, his frown deepening at the burning-hot skin. “I’m worried your fever is going up.” 

Reiner closed his eyes and swallowed, trying to breathe and having difficulty. Bertholdt gave him a minute before putting the thermometer in his mouth, holding it there until the beeping noise indicated it had Reiner’s temperature. 

A small gasp prompted Reiner to crack his eyes open and glance at his husband. Bertholdt looked troubled, turning his gaze back to Reiner. “You’ve gone up, you’re at 40.4,” He shook his head and stood up, Reiner’s gaze following him. “I need to take you to the hospital. You’re getting sicker and sicker.” 

“It’s just a fever, Bertl…” Reiner protested, reaching for his water bottle and taking a drink. He chest lit on fire when he coughed, spilling his water bottle onto the floor. Bertholdt shook his head again, pulling out his cellphone and dialing a number. 

“No, you’re going to the hospital. You’ve been getting worse for days no matter what I do,” Bertholdt glanced around the room mindlessly while he listened to the dial tone, the person on the other end of the line picking up. “Porco, it’s Bertholdt. …I’ve been better. Can you watch Gabi? Reiner’s gotta go to the hospital. …I don’t know. Maybe? Yeah… I’ll leave you a key to the house just in case you need it. I can bring over everything she needs for school tomorrow. Okay? Okay. That’s fine. Bye.” 

Bertholdt stood up and went back to Reiner, who looked half-asleep with his mouth hanging open and his eyes closed. He bit his lower lip and chewed on it a little, breathing deeply and going to Gabi’s room. 

“Bert!” Gabi put down the controller to the game console in her room, turning to look at him. “Is Reiner feeling better?” 

“No, sweetheart, he isn’t. I’m going to take him to the doctor, so you’re going to be having a sleepover with Marcel and Porco and Pieck tonight, okay?” Gabi’s face dropped when Bertholdt told her Reiner was still sick, but she perked up at the sleepover idea. 

“If I’m sleeping over does that mean I don’t have to go to school in the morning?” 

“No, Gabi, you still have to go to school,” Bertholdt packed Gabi a tote bag, putting in an outfit for her. The Galliards had plenty of games and toys to keep her occupied. “I’ll get your bookbag ready, Porco will be here shortly to get you.” 

“Okay. When is Reiner going to feel better, Bert? I miss spending time with him…” Bertholdt faked a smile and turned to Gabi. He ran a hand through her hair. 

“Soon, Gabi.” She couldn’t see him worried so much about Reiner, all that would do is wind her up. And having Reiner like this and Gabi freaking out was just too much for his nerves right now. 

A few minutes later Porco came to the house, coming in without knocking because he knew Bertholdt was expecting him. “Hey, Bertl. Hey, Gabi, are you excited to come stay with me and Marcel and Pieck?” 

“Yeah, next time I want to sleep over with Reiner and Bert too!” Porco laughed at her and tousled her hair. 

“I’m sure we can do that. Hey, kiddo, we need to have a grownup conversation. Do you have all your stuff ready? Be sure and check!” Porco and Bertholdt left Gabi alone, stepping out into the living room. “Has he gotten that much worse?” 

“His temperature is getting into the danger zone. I don’t understand, a few days ago it was just the flu…” Bertholdt shook his head, his face in his hands. 

“I talked to Pieck a little bit about it, you know, her being a doctor and all…” Porco stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She said that sometimes the flu can become pneumonia, especially if he might’ve accidentally inhaled some food while he was already sick.” 

“Pneumonia? God, I hope not…” Porco put a hand on Bertholdt’s shoulder. 

“Hey, Bertl. Pneumonia isn’t ideal, but Reiner is otherwise healthy and young. He’ll bounce back from this. I promise. Pieck and I will take care of Gabi in the meantime.” Bertholdt nodded and ran a hand along his face. “I’ll take the troublemaker, go ahead and go get Reiner ready.” 

“Thanks, Porco. What would I do without you?” 

“What would _anyone_ do without me?” Porco laughed, going to Gabi’s room and taking her and her stuff out to his car with little difficulty; Gabi seemed bouncy and excited to be having a sleepover with Marcel, chattering about playing Mario Party with him. 

“God, help me…” Bertholdt went to get Reiner, thinking of the most direct route to the hospital. 

  


“God, please, help me…” Bertholdt shook his head in his hands, blinking back tears while he looked at Reiner sleeping in the hospital bed. The flu had progressed to pneumonia, which complicated and resulted in pleural effusion. Which, because God had some sick sense of humor, complicated and got infected. Reiner was going to be going into surgery to have the severe effusion taken care of, him needing a chest tube and a course of antibiotics. 

A vibration on his hip drew his attention away from his sleeping husband. Oh, it was Porco. “Hello?” 

“Hey, Bertl. Gabi wanted to talk to you. Is that okay? If not I can tell her you’re busy.” Bertholdt smiled slightly and exhaled through his nose. 

“Yeah. Go ahead and put her on.” Maybe she could make him feel better. He needed to be chipper on the phone so she didn’t worry too much. “Hey, sweetheart! How was school today?” 

“Bert! Today we learned about subtracting numbers with THREE digits! I like math, math is fun.” Bertholdt chuckled to himself, resting his head on his other hand. 

“I like math too. When you get older you’ll learn to multiply. That’s my favorite kind of math.” 

“I made you and Reiner pictures at school today.” Bertholdt smiled and thought back to the picture she had drawn, sitting in his office room at the library. His favorite, besides the photos of Reiner and her. 

“Really? I bet they’re pretty. You’re good at drawing.” 

“Bert. Is Reiner going to get better?” 

“…Yes, Gabi. He’s going to get better.” 

“When?” 

“…I don’t know, sweetheart.” Gabi was silent on the other end of the line, Bertholdt regretting letting that slip when he realized what he said. He blinked back a couple of tears, but spoke steadily. “But when he’s better he’s going to love your picture.” 

“Do you think so?” Gabi asked, Bertholdt taking his free hand and mindlessly rubbing his thumb on Reiner’s hand. 

“I know he will. He’s going to be excited to see you again soon.” 

“Tell Reiner I miss him. Every time I see him he’s just asleep…” 

“I will, sweetheart. I need to go. I love you, Gabi.” 

“Love you too, Bert. Tell Reiner I said so too!” Bertholdt hummed and hung up his phone, reaching over and holding one of Reiner’s hands in his own while his husband rested, the oxygen tubes delivering him oxygen where his lungs were unable to expand fully. 

“Gabi misses you, Reiner. I miss you. God, please, just get better soon…” Bertholdt ran his other hand through Reiner’s blonde locks, holding his breath while he did so. 

  


Reiner mindlessly changed the channel on the TV, finally happy to be back in his own home. It had been forever since he first came down with what he thought was a common cold, but now his chest was sore because of the healing incision where they did surgery and put in the chest tube. Preferable to infection on top of infection but still painful. He wouldn’t be able to go back to work for a little while longer, but at least he was home. 

He glanced at the clock. Porco was going to be bringing Gabi home from school soon, since Bertholdt was going to be staying at work late today supervising an event at the library. He went ahead and went to the bathroom, got himself a couple of glasses of water, and some snacks for himself in the meantime. As if on cue, as soon as he got comfortable on the sofa again Gabi opened the door, bidding Porco and Marcel farewell as they drove off. 

“Reiner!” Gabi started to run towards him, but remembered he was still not fully healed and stopped herself. She put her bookbag down on the floor and sat on the sofa next to him, kicking her legs back and forth. “Are you better now than this morning?” 

“I’m getting there, Gabi,” Reiner patted the spot next to him, Gabi moving to lean against him. Reiner put his arm around her shoulder and held her, running his hand along her arm. “Soon I can go out and do things with you and Bert again.” 

“So we just need to do things here until you’re all the way better!” Gabi said, looking up at Reiner and getting a nod in return. She absentmindedly jostled Reiner a little, pulling away when he made an expression of discomfort. 

“That’s right, did you want to do something?” Reiner asked, adjusting himself on the couch and peeling his orange. 

“Can I watch a movie with you?” Gabi asked, Reiner chuckling in response. Gabi smiled when he nodded, walking across the room and turning on their blu-ray player. “What do you want to watch?” 

“I’ll let you decide, dear.” 

“How about Toy Story 3? No, wait! Mulan!” Gabi gasped, digging through the drawer on the media stand with her movies in it. “Can we watch Tarzan?” 

“If that’s what you want to watch, sweetheart.” Reiner leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment to rest them. Truthfully he’d seen Tarzan a thousand times. He’d have preferred Mulan. Or Tangled, or maybe The Incredibles, but he told her she could pick. Of course she could’ve picked The Lion King, which he felt like he’d seen a million times. She put the movie in and moved to sit next to Reiner again. 

“My favorite song is Two Worlds!” Gabi told Reiner, moving to nuzzle him. Reiner lifted his blanket from his torso, letting Gabi sidle up to him so she could be underneath it too. “I’m happy you’re home again.” 

“I’m glad to be back, Gabi. I missed you. But you drew me so many pretty pictures while I was gone so I know you were thinking about me.” 

“I thought about you every day! I missed you a lot. Bert did too. But not as much as me,” Reiner closed his eyes in discomfort and slouched, reclining his side of the sofa and stretching out. “Are you still hurting, Reiner?” Gabi asked, fidgeting with her hands. 

“Yes. But don’t worry. I just need to take my medicine again and I’ll feel better.” Reiner checked the clock. He still had about thirty minutes until time to take his medicine again. 

“Oh! You know what’ll make it feel better?” Reiner raised his eyebrows wordlessly in response, waiting for Gabi’s answer to her own question. “I can kiss it and make it better like you and Bert do for me!” 

The thought of Gabi kissing the stitches on his chest made Reiner cringe inside. “Well, don’t kiss me where I’m hurting. But if you do it on my cheek it’ll still work anyways,” Gabi kissed Reiner’s cheek, him wiping his cheek and rubbing his chest gently. “See? I put it there so it’ll work.” 

“Good!” Gabi took the remote and pushed the play button to start the movie. “It’s almost spring so when you’re better we can go buy kites!” 

“Is that what you want to do?” Gabi nodded enthusiastically against him. “I’m sure we could do that. Bert likes flying kites too.” 

“Yay!” Gabi started to get excited, but stopped and pulled away when Reiner started to show signs of discomfort again. 

“It’s okay, Gabi, just try and not move too much, okay?” Reiner adjusted his blanket, making sure he and Gabi were both wrapped up and cozy. “Comfy?” 

“Yeah.” Gabi rested her head in the crook where his neck and shoulder met, Reiner resting his hand on her shoulder. 

She missed him. At least he was mostly better now, and soon he'd be all the way better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably not going to post as much this month while I work on stuff (as in I'll probably have a lot to post at the end of the month). I don't have much to work on in my request box so feel free to kick a few ideas my way. For this AU, oneshots, other ideas, or whatever.


	20. Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request for Reiner and Bertholdt meeting one another  
> Marcel is 10, Reiner/Pieck/Annie are 9, Porco/Bertholdt are 8

Reiner fidgeted with his hands, shuffling nervously while the camp counselor, Zeke, walked back and forth assigning the kids at camp to the team they would be on for the duration of the camp. He didn’t even want to come to camp, but his mom basically sent him away, said it’d be good for him. 

What’d be good for him would be letting him stay home and watch TV and play his nintendo gamecube, but nooooo, he had to come here. He didn’t even know anyone, though he did recognize a few faces as people from school. 

“Reiner Braun?” Zeke stood in front of him, looking down at him with a clipboard in front of his face. Reiner nodded his head nervously, Zeke writing something on the clipboard and handing him a yellow bandana. “You’re with the Warriors. The kids with yellow bandanas are the ones you’ll be living with and teamed up with the next few weeks. After we hand out the bandanas go to the bunkhouse on the hill over there. Have fun.” 

That was it? Just a yellow bandana? Reiner took it and tied it around his neck like he had seen some of the other kids do when they got their bandanas. Some of the other boys and girls had them tied up on their heads but he just wanted his around his neck. 

There were a couple of other teams. The Titans, who wore blue bandanas, the Roses, who wore red, and the Unicorns, who wore green. 

He didn’t need to be so nervous! Even though none of his friends were here… and his mom was all the way back home and he wouldn’t see her for a couple of weeks… and all the other kids were already talking and making friends with one another and he was all alone… 

Reiner made his way to the Warrior’s bunkhouse after they had finished up handing out bandanas. There were a few other kids there. A blonde girl with her hair tied into a bun. A black-haired girl with her hair in a ponytail. Two boys who looked alike, the one with black hair messing with the one with reddish-blonde hair. 

Reiner looked at the ground as he walked, noticing something shiny on the ground while he walked. What was that? He bent over and picked it up, examining the object in his hand. A small silver necklace? 

“Hey! Give that back!” Reiner started to turn around, alarmed when he felt a pair of arms shove him and knock him over, him tumbling to the ground and landing on his side after his knee his the ground. He rolled into the grass, dazed from the ambush. 

“Porco! Stop!” The black-haired boy ran up to the other one. “What are you doing?” 

“He stole my necklace!” The other boy growled, reclasping it around his neck. The blonde girl rolled her eyes at the sight, shaking her head. 

“He picked it up off the ground, you idiot,” The girl walked up to Reiner, poking at his side with her foot. “Get up.” 

Reiner breathed in, the wind having been knocked out of him when he fell. He rolled onto his hands and knees, looking around. All the other kids in the Warriors were staring at him on the ground. Oh, god, they all saw that, they were going to make fun of him, they weren’t going to want to be his friend and he’d be all alone the whole time he was at camp. 

“Hey… are you okay?” Reiner looked up, seeing a boy with black hair and a yellow bandana standing in front of him. He bent his knees a little and reached out a hand to help Reiner up. Reiner took the boy’s hand, standing back up and dusting off his clothes. “What’s your name?” 

“Oh, uh… Reiner.” Reiner fidgeted. His leg hurt. The boy looked at his leg and saw a scraped knee, a little bit of dirt in the broken skin. He took Reiner’s hand and led him away into the bunkhouse. 

“My mommy said I had to bring a first-aid kit just in case. The camp counselors put all our stuff our parents left in our house.” The boy led Reiner to a bottom bunk, him pulling out his kit. “My name is Bertholdt.” 

“Thanks for helping me up, Bertholdt.” Reiner watched the boy nod, him pulling out a bandaid, some ointment, and an alcohol pad. 

“You’re welcome, Reiner. This might hurt a little,” Reiner bit down on his tongue and inhaled sharply whenever Bertholdt pressed the alcohol pad to his knee. “I know. Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Bertholdt put the alcohol pad to the side and put some ointment on Reiner’s knee, then put the bandaid on over it. “How do you know how to do all that?” 

“Daddy told me I need to know how to do this so he showed me how,” Bertholdt put his first aid kit back underneath what Reiner assumed to be his bunk. “You’re Reiner? That means your bunk is the one on top of mine.” 

“Oh, they gave me a top bunk? Cool, I wanted one!” Reiner grinned and stood up, climbing the ladder on the bunkbed and sitting on his bed. 

“I know. I wanted one too,” Bertholdt crossed his arms and looked up at Reiner from the floor. “Lucky.” 

“Want to come on up?” Reiner asked, extending his hand down towards Bertholdt and gesturing for him to come up. Bertholdt didn’t respond, but climbed up the ladder and sat cross-legged on the end of Reiner’s bed. “I’m glad these little rails are here or I’d be afraid I’d fall off.” 

“I’ll get my first-aid kit if you fall off, don’t worry.” Bertholdt turned to look at Reiner. “They said today we’re supposed to get to know our teammates and tomorrow we really start with our activities.” 

“Oh, okay. Uh, I’m Reiner, and I’m nine. I’ll be starting fourth grade at East Liberio Elementary after the summer ends.” 

“I go to East Liberio Elementary too! But I’m starting third grade ‘cause I’m eight,” Bertholdt leaned in and looked at Reiner. “Can I ask you something?” 

“What?” Reiner asked, trying to think back and remember if he ever saw Bertholdt at school. 

“Is Ms. Brzenska as mean as everyone says she is?” Bertholdt asked curiously. Reiner laughed and remembered how afraid he was of his last teacher. 

“No, Ms. Rico is really nice. She just doesn’t like it when nobody does homework,” Reiner scratched the back of his head. “I’m afraid of starting fourth grade ‘cause I heard Mr. Kitz is mean.” 

“Well at least you can tell me if he is or not so I don’t have to worry!” Bertholdt laughed, Reiner frowning at him. Bertholdt lightly hit his hand on Reiner’s back. “I think they organized us by school.” 

“Think so?” Reiner asked, going back down the ladder and getting his backpack before climbing back up. 

“Yeah, ‘cause I think all the Warriors go to East Liberio. I heard a couple of the kids with the Titans talking and they all go to a different school.” 

“Oh. Then why didn’t they just have us line up by school?” Bertholdt shrugged his shoulders, Reiner accepting that answer. 

“Hey, Reiner?” Reiner turned to look at Bertholdt, raising his brows. “Will you be my friend? I don’t know anyone but Annie was ignoring me when I tried talking to her…” 

“If you’ll be my friend too?” 

Bertholdt laughed. “Yeah. That sounds good to me.” 

  


“So we beat the Unicorns at capture the flag, and the Titans beat the Roses, so this evening we’re going to be playing against the Titans to see who’s first place,” Marcel paced back and forth while he spoke, the other Warriors watching him. The oldest and a natural leader, Marcel commanded the attention of the others. “The winning team gets cake at dinner tonight and they win some prizes. So it’s _really important_ that we win.” 

“Then we’d better not have Reiner be the one running to grab the flag. He’s not fast.” Porco crossed his arms, Reiner shying away a little at the comment. 

“I’m the leader, not you,” Marcel said to his brother with a brow raised. “But no, Reiner, we aren’t going to have you running to grab the flag. You’re staying with Pieck to guard the flag. Porco and Annie are going to be the ones tagging people in our territory to get them out. And me and Bertholdt are going to run into the Titan’s area to capture the flag.” 

“What if you’re both out?” Pieck asked. 

“Then we’ll send in Annie. Then Porco. Then Reiner. Then you. Got it?” 

As luck would have it, the plan fell apart pretty quickly. Porco didn’t trust Reiner to guard the flag, pushing him away so he could guard it instead. Reiner managed to get a player who invaded their territory out, a freckled boy with black hair. Annie managed to get a blonde boy out, him not seeming particularly athletic. 

He never stood a chance against her. Poor thing. 

Bertholdt came barreling down into their territory after a few minutes, carrying a blue flag and four kids from the other team on his tail. 

“They got Marcel!” Bertholdt ran past Reiner, him and Annie quickly moving to intercept and get two of the kids out; he got some kid with a shaved head, she got some boy with an undercut and brown hair. Porco moved to tag and get the brown-haired boy chasing Bertholdt out, but inadvertently hit Bertholdt and knocked him over. 

The Asian girl ran straight past their blue flag and took advantage of Porco being knocked over to steal the Warrior’s red flag. She snagged it, Pieck tagging the brown-haired boy to get him out. The Asian girl kept running, outspeeding Reiner. 

It seemed hopeless until Annie mercilessly intercepted her, getting the Asian girl out and the Warriors winning by default when all six of the other team were eliminated. 

“We did it!” Pieck shouted, running over to Annie in celebration. Annie grunted and crossed her arms. 

“No thanks to Porco. What was that all about?” She challenged, him frowning at her. Before he could open his mouth to respond to her, Marcel ran back to their territory. 

“We won! We get cake!” He shouted. “We need to go pick out which prizes we want!” The brown-haired kid pouted and crossed his arms as he walked back to the Titan’s territory with their blue flag. 

“What are the prizes?” Bertholdt asked, rubbing his arm and standing next to Reiner. 

“Uh, I don’t actually know…” Marcel turned around. “Let’s go to the counselor and see!” 

  


“That cake was so good,” Bertholdt said, walking around with the compass that he got from the prizes that were offered. He didn’t want the compass but all the other cool stuff got snatched up first. Pieck took the little bug house and had gone out collecting caterpillars. Reiner took the slingshot, Annie took the binoculars, Porco took the net, and Marcel took the backpack. “I wish I got a better prize…” 

“You can play with my slingshot if you want,” Reiner offered the slingshot to him, Bertholdt taking it and picking up a rock from the ground. He aimed it at a stray pinecone in the tree, shooting it and knocking it down. “Maybe if we win another challenge we’ll get more cool prizes. I’ll let you pick before me so you’ll get something better.” 

“It’s okay, Reiner. Maybe I’ll need a compass one day,” Bertholdt looked around, the sun setting and the sky darkening. “We should head back to the bunkhouse.” 

“You’re right. Do you want to sit outside, though? I don’t want to go in yet.” Bertholdt nodded, the two of them making their way back to their temporary home. They sat underneath the tree near their bunkhouse, Pieck and Annie chatting outside while Marcel and Porco were roughhousing in the grass. 

“Hey, Reiner?” 

“Hmm?” 

“I know it isn’t cool for fourth graders to be friends with third graders… but do you think we’ll still be friends after we leave camp and go back to school?” Bertholt pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and getting comfortable. 

“Yeah… I think we’ll still be friends. I don’t care that you’ll be in third grade,” Reiner put his hands behind his head and laid down on the ground. “I don’t like Porco. Sorry he’s in the same grade as you.” 

“I don’t like Annie that much… sorry she’s in the same grade as you,” Bertholdt replied, laying down on the ground next to Reiner and watching the sky with him. Fireflies started lighting up, floating around in the air while the stars started making their debut in the sky. “Look! A shooting star!” 

Reiner noticed the shooting star, a grin crossing his face. “Hey, another one!” 

The other Warriors took notice, all of them coming out and sitting to watch the meteor shower. 

“Hey! I have an idea!” Marcel said after a few minutes of watching the falling stars. “Let’s start a campfire in the little fire pit and roast marshmallows and watch the falling stars. I can have Zeke start it real quick.” 

“That sounds like fun!” Pieck added, watching her caterpillars moving around in her little terrarium. Porco looked at them, then her, in disgust. 

“Why do you keep those things?” 

“They’re cute!” 

“You’re weird.” Pieck shrugged her shoulders, watching her new friends while Marcel made his leave. He came back after a few minutes with a bored counselor in tow, lighting the campfire. 

“Put that out when you go to sleep. If you need more wood there’s some behind your bunkhouse. Be careful and don’t do anything stupid.” Zeke swiveled around on his heels, heading back to the house the counselors stayed in. 

All six of them grabbed a mesh folding chair, sitting around the campfire with a couple of bags of marshmallows and their sticks to roast them with. 

Pieck stuck her marshmallow directly into the fire, pulling it out when her marshmallow out when it ignited. “Perfect!” 

“You like your marshmallows burned?” Bertholdt asked her in surprise. She nodded, waiting a moment before pulling the gooey treat off and eating it. “Huh.” 

“I think we should all get to know one another. We’ve all just hung out with the same person all day,” Marcel pulled his marshmallow away from the fire, torched on one side and undercooked on the other. He frowned but ate his treat, jealous of the golden-brown perfection Porco made. “Reiner, what do you like to do?” 

Reiner blushed, not expecting to get put on the spot all of a sudden. “Uh, I like to play my gamecube?” 

“Really? What games?” Pieck perked up, turning her attention away from her caterpillars. 

“I like to play super smash brothers-” 

“Who do you play as?” Porco interrupted, curiosity in his voice. “I like Mewtwo but Marcel plays with Marth,” 

“I like playing with Kirby! But I always make him blue, I like the way he looks that way,” Reiner turned to Bertholdt. “Do you play it?” 

“No, my mommy says that my playstation 2 is fine, she won’t get me a gamecube. She gets me any game I ask for, though.” 

All the kids turned their attention to Bertholdt. Annie broke the silence. “Do… you… have grand theft auto?” 

“Yeah, but I haven’t played it… I like my spyro games.” 

“Marcel! He has it!” Porco said, shaking his brother’s arm. Bertholdt raised his eyebrows in surprise at Porco’s excitement. 

“You gotta let me come over and play it. Dad won’t buy it for me.” Annie said, her eyes uncharacteristically excited. 

“Your mom doesn’t care what games you play?” 

“No, she and daddy don’t care because it isn’t real. They got me mortal combat too…” 

“Oh my god!” Porco shook Marcel’s arm again. “Party at Bertholdt’s house!” 

“What?!” Bertholdt asked in surprise, all the others watching him excitedly. 

“Yeah! Party at Bertholdt’s house!” Reiner agreed, a wide smile crossing his face while all of them started planning a get-together in a few weeks at Bertholdt’s house. 

Bertholdt laughed nervously at first, but his laughter turned genuine the longer he and the other Warriors sat around the campfire. 

Party at his house sounded just fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the requester, sorry this is a bit different than what you had in mind in the request. I always knew they met at camp but y'all had no way of knowing that because I think I vaguely mentioned it like twice in two different chapters.
> 
> Playing grand theft auto: san andreas was like... a formative moment for me as a child. Me and all the cousins in my family would go visit our aunt's house and she had a playstation with it. None of our parents would get it for us so it was a yearly summertime activity starting when I was like 10 that we would all go play it together hehe.
> 
> If you're reading this thank you very much for enjoying my fic and ily <3


	21. Marcel (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request for big brother Marcel and Porco, what happened to Marcel  
> Marcel is 16, Porco is 14/20/25

“Hey bro! Want to go to the arcade with me?” Marcel asked, leaning back into the couch and stretching himself out when Porco came down the stairs. Porco cocked a brow at his brother, crossing his arms. “I was just thinking about going out, I’d love for you to come with me.” 

“Uh, sure? Are you taking anyone else?” Porco moved to sit next to Marcel on the couch, putting his feet up on the table. “I don’t really feel like hanging out with everyone tonight.” Hanging out with everyone was fun, but he was tired and wanted to spend time with his brother. 

“No. Reiner and Bertholdt are out seeing a movie. I don’t know what Pieck and Annie are up to but I don’t want to hang out with everyone either,” Marcel stood up, Porco a little annoyed whenever he stood back up because he just sat down. “Let me grab some cash, mom and dad left some money for us in the drawer.” 

Marcel went to the drawer and grabbed the wad of bills. Porco followed Marcel, being caught off guard whenever Marcel turned around quickly and put him in a headlock. Marcel ground his knuckles into Porco’s scalp, him struggling to get out of the headlock. “Let go of me, you asshole!” 

“Hehe, sorry but you left yourself wide open. Let’s grab the keys and head on out,” Marcel grabbed the keys to the truck his parents got him, him and Porco hopping in. “I love this truck, man. I wonder what kinda car mom and dad are gonna get you?” 

“I hope they get me an old sports car. I know they won’t, but still.” Porco thought out loud, buckling himself in. Marcel pulled out, taking the two of them to the arcade and listening to music together. Porco rolled the window down, sticking his arm out and feeling the wind against his hair. “You gonna try and beat Annie’s score on the dig dug machine?” 

“You know it, I’m still pissed she beat my high score the last time we were out. I had the high score for weeks!” Marcel laughed when they pulled into the parking lot of the arcade, the two of them hopping out of his pickup truck and heading inside. “Let’s get some food before we play, I’m starving.” 

“Sounds good to me, grab me some nachos and a soda. I’ll go grab us a good seat.” Porco grabbed a booth close to the jukebox, putting in some quarters and picking a song he and Marcel both enjoyed. Marcel came to the booth with nachos, pizza and their drinks. 

“So how’s things going with you and Pieck?” Marcel teased, sitting down across from his brother and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Porco frowned at Marcel, taking a nacho and chewing on it. “Have you wooed her yet?” 

“Shut it, Marcel. Why would I want to woo someone like her anyways? She’s too weird, have you seen the way she dresses? What’s with all the makeup she’s been wearing, that blue eyeshadow up to her eyebrows looks weird.” 

“She’s just trying to figure out her look, once she learns what she’s doing she’ll be so cute! I think she might fancy youuuu~” Marcel kept waggling his eyebrows, Porco’s cheeks flushing and him looking away from his brother. 

“If you think she’s so cute why don’t you ask her out?” Porco retaliated, Marcel taking a bite from his pizza. “You’ve always been better with the girls than me anyways…” 

“Hey, man, don’t look so down. You’ll find a girl that’ll knock your socks off, I guarantee it,” Marcel took another drink out of his cup. “Besides, Pieck’s cute enough but I don’t want to date her,” Marcel gestured for Porco to lean in as though he was going to tell him a secret. He lightly smacked the side of Porco’s head when his brother leaned in, Porco scowling when he pulled away. “Ha! Gets you every time. I’m going to ask out Annie next week. Bertl and Reiner and I all wanted to go to see that new movie with the vampires. I heard it’s supposed to be really good and I convinced Annie to go see it with me.” 

“That movie looks so _stupid,_ Marcel! And quit being an asshole,” Porco rubbed at the side of his head, Marcel giving him that dumb smile he gave everyone that managed to charm just about everyone. Too bad Porco knew all his tricks, his scowl remaining. “Annie? Really? Doesn’t Bertholdt have a crush on her?” 

“Ha! Bertholdt? Annie? Can’t you tell Bertholdt is in love with Reiner?” Porco cocked a brow at that, Marcel picking up on his confusion. “Don’t tell me you can’t tell. Next time you see the two of them together watch the way Bertholdt looks at him. He can deny it all he wants. I’d put money on it.” 

Porco rolled his eyes, leaned back in the booth with his arms crossed. “Yeah, right. Saying those two would be a match would be like saying me and Pieck will get married one day. Ain’t gonna happen.” 

“Okay then, wanna bet? Fifty dollars says Bertl and Reiner get together one day. A hundred if they get married.” 

“I’ll put money on that,” Porco and Marcel reached their hands across the table, shaking before turning back to their nachos. “Think Annie will go out with you?” Marcel grinned a look that Porco hadn’t ever seen before. 

“I think so. I hope so.” Porco chuckled at his brother. 

“Look at you. Loser.” 

  


“You drive like an old person.” Annie said, earning a laugh from the backseat of the car. Bertholdt chuckled alongside Reiner, Marcel rolling his eyes at the observation. 

“Oh, haha. I come to complete stops at stop signs. Big deal.” Marcel put on his turn signal, driving his car to get to the movie theater. He had to take his dad’s sedan, since his pickup truck didn’t seat all four of them very comfortably. The movie was going to be great, he was sure. Marcel glanced into the rear-view mirror, watching Bertholdt steal a look at Reiner while Reiner stared out the window of the car. 

Hehe. Porco was going to have to cough up his allowance, it was gonna be great. Might take a little while, Bertholdt still thought nobody could tell. 

“So Reiner, looking forward to getting your license next year?” Marcel asked, keeping his eyes on the road. 

“I mean yeah. But my mom only has the one car and we can’t afford a second so I’ll only be able to have it when she’s at home,” Reiner shrugged his shoulders, not too bothered by it. “I’m not worried. Pieck will get her license too, I can just bum rides off her when you’re not around.” 

“Don’t expect any rides from me,” Annie said, watching the scenery pass by while they drove. “Dad’ll be anal about putting miles on anything he gets me, I’m sure.” 

“Well, I can take you anywhere you need to go,” Marcel said, stealing a look at Annie and her pretty blonde hair, tied up in a bun like always. Reiner noticed, cocking a brow and looking at Bertholdt. Why was Bertholdt already looking at him? “We’re here.” 

To say the movie was a massive disappointment would be an understatement. Marcel chewed the inside of his cheek. He couldn’t ask Annie out after such a disappointing movie. They were all feeling iffy about it. 

“So that sucked. Do you guys want to go out again next week to see that new movie coming out? With the pirates?” 

“I thought that looked like it could be really fun!” Reiner piped up, Bertholdt looking over at him and smiling. 

“Me too! The part in the previews with the kraken looked so cool!” Bertholdt added, Annie glancing back at them in the backseat. 

“You guys know they put all the cool shit in the trailers to get people like you guys to buy tickets, right?” Annie said, sipping on her drink and leaning back into her seat. 

Marcel brought the car to a stop at the red light, turning to look at Annie. He put his lip out into a pout and gave her the puppy-dog eyes. “Pleeaaasee come out with me next week to see the pirate movie?” 

Annie felt her face flush, turning away and looking out the window. “Well… maybe. I’ll think about it.” 

“Hey, Marcel, the light’s about to turn green. The other light is yellow.” Reiner said, Marcel turning his attention back to the road. 

“Oh, thanks Reiner. I’d have been sitting here being a dumbass hehe.” Marcel watched the light, pushing down on the gas when the light turned green. 

“Hey, Annie-” 

Marcel’s words were cut off suddenly by a massive, forceful crash when a truck barreled through the red light, striking the vehicle in a t-bone collision. The force of the collision forced Marcel’s vehicle into the next lane of traffic, resulting in the car being struck again. 

Bertholdt opened his eyes, his mind foggy. …Why were there red and blue lights everywhere? His arm hurt… he tried to move his head but didn’t have the strength. His head hurt so bad… Oh, that was Annie over there? Reiner was on the ground near her. Why was his arm so sore? He used up all his strength to look, seeing one of his arm bones snapped in half and coming out of his skin. 

He’d have screamed if he had the energy. 

  


Porco’s eyes were glazed over, unable to actually cry. Marcel was in that box in front of him and he wasn’t ever ever coming back and he couldn’t even bring himself to cry. His mom and dad were breaking down, sobbing on the coffin, but he couldn’t do it. He was sad. Heartbroken, even. 

But he couldn’t cry. 

Couldn’t even have an open-casket funeral. Apparently after the accident Marcel… Porco shook his head. Didn’t even want to think about that. 

Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie were clearly traumatized by the accident. Reiner and Annie were covered in stitches, Bertholdt’s arm in a cast while his arm was healing. They all offered their condolences. And they all cried so much, mourning one of their best friends and coming to terms with the fact that Marcel really was gone. 

But he couldn’t. 

Even when Marcel’s casket was put into the back of the hearse. Even when the casket was put in the ground. When he went back to the cemetery and saw where the dirt was put back on nothing came. When he went home and sat in Marcel’s room, the bed still unmade where Marcel was too distracted about asking out Annie to fix it, nothing came. 

His parents were whispering about him at night, behind closed doors. Talking about him like he was some sort of sociopath because he never cried. 

Porco ran his hands through his hair, taking Marcel’s car keys one night. The little Goku keychain still dangled off the keyring. He hopped into Marcel’s truck, turning it on and leaning his head against the steering wheel. 

When that song he and Marcel both liked came on, he finally cried. 

  


“Why are you like this? Why can’t you be more like Marcel was?!” His dad barked at him, Porco gritting his teeth. 

“Want me to be more like Marcel? Want me to go die too so I’m not bothering you anymore?” 

The arguing never helped in the long-term. And every time his parents brought up Marcel in an argument all Porco wanted to do was curl up in bed and cry. 

They were always right. Marcel _wouldn’t_ be out doing stupid shit. Marcel _wouldn’t_ have picked up a smoking habit. Marcel _wouldn’t_ have already been arrested three times by his seventeenth birthday. Marcel _wouldn’t_ be constantly arguing with them over poor decisions. 

But Marcel was gone so why did it even matter? His parents never paid attention to him anymore. Unless he got in trouble. 

He knew they secretly wished he died instead of Marcel. 

Sometimes he did too. 

  


Porco sat next to Pieck in the driver’s side of the car, parking the vehicle. He ran his hand through his hair before turning to his side and pecking her cheek. 

“Today’s the day we know for sure,” Pieck said, Porco reaching over and rubbing a hand along her belly. “Excited?” 

“I’ve been dying to know what the baby’s going to be,” Porco wasn’t lying about that. He had definitely had issues bonding with baby and was still terrified and nervous about the idea of being a father. But his curiosity had been getting the better of him for some time. Boy? Or girl? “Time to find out.” 

Porco went around and helped Pieck out of her side of the car. She certainly wasn’t huge yet, but she was obviously pregnant. She could take care of herself but he still wanted to help her any way he could. 

They sat in the waiting room, Pieck leaning against Porco’s arm while they waited to be called back. When they heard her name the two of them went back for the ultrasound, Pieck especially excited for the anatomy scan. 

“Have a preference? Boy or girl?” The doctor asked with a smile, prepping Pieck for the ultrasound. Pieck shook her head, Porco shrugging his shoulders. He’d like a boy, he guessed. But he certainly wouldn’t care more about a boy than he would a girl or anything like that. 

“Oh, Pock, look… the baby’s so much bigger than the last time we had an ultrasound…” 

“Your baby is getting bigger and bigger every day!” The doctor said, focused on the screen. “You can see the spine here,” Pieck couldn’t help but go starry-eyed, mumbling little words of amazement at the screen in front of her. It definitely looked much more like a baby than the last time they saw their child on the ultrasound. Porco squeezed Pieck’s shoulder when he heard her sniffle. “Here’s a leg and foot, there’s the baby’s bladder… Oh. Do you want to know the gender? Or do you want it in an envelope?” 

“What are we having?” Pieck asked excitedly, Porco rubbing little circles into her shoulder. 

“You’re having a boy. Here’s the penis on the ultrasound, he isn’t shy at all.” The doctor pointed out the baby’s anatomy on the ultrasound, Pieck blinking back tears. 

“A boy,” Pieck looked up at Porco and smiled. “Our Marcel.” 

  


Porco held his son, rocking him back and forth in his arms. Pieck was asleep and he wanted her to rest, so he got up to tend to Marcel’s crying that night. 

He had been afraid he wouldn’t love his son but now he would willingly lay down his life for the bundle in his arms. He wouldn’t even need to think about it. 

Porco mindlessly looked around his apartment while he walked around, eventually taking his free hand and grabbing an old framed picture off a shelf. He sat down and looked at the picture. Him and Marcel on his fourteenth birthday. That was the last birthday they had together. They had their arms around each other’s necks, smiles on both their faces. Pieck and Bertholdt were in the background making faces at the camera. 

“Hey buddy, I know you’re sleeping. But I still want to tell you about someone. See the guy in this picture with me? That’s Marcel. Like you. I named you after him, in honor of my big brother. I miss him every day,” Porco swallowed and looked at the photograph, feeling his eyes start to burn. “I love you, Marcel. I always will.” 

Marcel yawned, blinking his eyes open tiredly before closing them back. Porco brought his son to his face and kissed his head, running a finger through his black hair. 

  


“Guess I owe you even more money now, bro.” Porco said, bringing a bouquet of flowers and putting them on his brother’s grave. “Bertl and Reiner got married a couple of months ago. I remember at the arcade you said if they got together I’d owe you fifty, or one hundred if they got married.” 

It was a warm day out. It was still summer, but the kids would all start going to school again soon. Or in his son’s case, starting school. Porco sat on the ground and leaned against the headstone. Would Marcel care that his ass was on his grave? …Nah. He’d think it was funny. 

“Marcel is so smart. He takes after his mom like that. Maybe from his uncle a little too. You always were the smarter one. Dependable too. I wish you were here so little Marcel could look at you the same way I used to. I thought you could do anything. …I guess I still think that, ‘cause when I imagine what it’d be like if you were still here I realize that you could’ve done whatever you wanted.” 

Porco wiped at his eyes. “I worked a little more on your old truck the other day. I want to keep it nice. It served me well but I can’t let go of it. I put a new engine in the truck to make sure it stays running. Sometimes I take Marcel and drive around in it with him and we listen to music together like you and I used to. He doesn’t like that song you and I loved though.” 

“I miss you,” Porco choked out a sob and wiped at his face. “I wish so bad you could meet my son. You’d love him so much, I know.” He let himself cry for a few minutes, imagining a world where his brother and his son got to be best buddies. His son probably wouldn’t be named Marcel then, but it’d still be him. 

“I gotta go. Pieck and Marcel are going to be waiting for me to get home. A new Disney movie came out last week and Marcel’s been begging us to take him to see it,” Porco stood, running his hand along the top of his brother’s headstone. “Happy birthday Marcel. I love you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could've made this a lot longer, but I didn't want to make it too awful long. I had more to write about Marcel but I really try to stay under 3k for chapters in this fic.


	22. Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 2, Reiner is 25, Bertholdt is 24

Curiosity, one of the hallmarks of childhood. What’s better than an unbridled passion to explore the world around yourself? Getting to know everything around you in an effort to understand. And the innocence that went along with the curiosity of a child… it was magical. 

A lot of things are better, Bertholdt had decided. 

An easy decision to make when he found that Gabi had shoved a wad of wipes into the toilet and clogged it, trying to flush it and flooding the bathroom. This was after she had grabbed the remote to the TV and taken out the batteries, then forgotten where she put them. And after she had pulled all the books off the shelf. 

He couldn’t begin to count how many times he had shouted “Gabi, no!” in the past couple of hours. Reiner was gone out with his mother for the afternoon to help her take care of some errands, leaving him alone with Gabi. 

But he wasn’t even sure having Reiner here would’ve made a difference because she still got into everything when they were both home. Bertholdt was through; he and Reiner were going to buy more locks and toddler-proofing supplies the minute he got home. 

She was a lot more bent on destruction today than usual. She must be nervous. Or excited. Or maybe she just misses Reiner. Even though he’d only been gone a couple of hours, that was forever in toddler time. 

Bertholdt finished organizing the books that Gabi had pulled out of the shelf. The scrapbooks and important sentimental books were all safe on the higher shelves, but he nearly shed a tear when he saw that Gabi had ripped several pages out of his field guide to Marleyan cryptids. Shedding a string of swear words made do instead. 

…Wait. Where was Gabi now? She was sitting on the floor next to him just a minute ago. Bertholdt looked around and saw no sign of her. He closed his eyes and ran a hand along his face, listening carefully. He didn’t hear anything being tossed around. That was a good sign. No glass breaking. _Very_ good sign. 

A loud crashing sound made Bertholdt die inside, him immediately hopping up and moving to the source of the noise. He bolted to the next room, where Reiner had started putting all of his sewing stuff. He had taken to it lately and was selling little outfits he made on the side while taking care of their daughter. 

“Gabi!” Bertholdt half-shouted, agitation growing in him at the sight of her having knocked over the little three-drawer storage container Reiner had. She was cuddling a large swath of fabric with kittens on it. Bertholdt immediately swooped in and grabbed Gabi, afraid of her stepping on needles or scissors or whatever else Reiner may have kept in the storage container. “Why did you do that?” 

“Kitties!” Gabi pointed at some fabric in her arms. A tacky fabric covered in kittens and sunflowers. Oh, someone wanted Reiner to make them an apron with that fabric. He remembered Reiner talking about that. “Kitties!” 

“Gabi, this is Reiner’s special room! You can’t go in here and just grab all his stuff!” Gabi clutched tighter onto the fabric, Bertholdt letting go. He couldn’t ruin this fabric because Reiner needed it to make that apron so he could make a little money on the side. 

“But I want kitties!” Bertholdt put Gabi down on the chair that Reiner sat in while he worked. He needed an aspirin because she was giving him quite the headache. 

“If you give me the kitties we can go to the pet store and you can look at real kitties.” Gabi smiled and handed Bertholdt the fabric, him taking it and folding it back up. He was amazed that actually worked. Maybe she’d like a petting zoo more. That’d be fun. After he cleaned up Reiner’s room, because he didn’t need to come home to a disaster. 

He turned around again to find Gabi digging around in a drawer on Reiner’s workstation. Bertholdt shook his head and grabbed her, her holding a small black box that she grabbed from inside the drawer. “I got box!” 

“You’re going to your room, young lady.” Bertholdt finally said in defeat, marching downstairs and putting her in her room. She was running out of steam, he could tell. Maybe a few more minutes and she’d take a nap. He took her to her room and sat cross-legged on the floor, sitting her on the floor beside him. “Give me that.” 

Gabi clutched onto the box when Bertholdt pulled it out of her hands, her strength no match for his and him pulling it away. She started to get angry and whine, but he shoved that pig doll Pieck had given to her into her arms. Gabi ran around the room for a few minutes, playing with it and her other toys until she was tired enough for him to put her to sleep. 

Now he had to clean Reiner’s room. Great. He grabbed the black box and went back to Reiner’s room, assessing where to start. He put the kitten fabric up first. 

What was this black box? He remembered going out with Reiner to buy sewing supplies but never remembered him buying anything like this. He opened the box, finding a smaller, fuzzy black jewelry box on the inside. He opened that one, finding a silver ring with a small black sapphire in it. 

Why would Reiner have a sapphire ring in such an odd place? Bertholdt frowned, then realization hit him. 

…Oh. _Oh._

He knew Reiner had been making and selling a lot of things lately and he had wondered where the money had been going but never asked because he trusted his boyfriend. There was a receipt inside the black box. Bertholdt grabbed it and looked at it, first feeling frustrated because _wow_ this ring could’ve bought so many groceries and then feeling surprised that Reiner had bought it only a couple of days ago. 

_Fuck,_ Reiner couldn’t know he saw this. Bertholdt hurriedly put the ring box back inside the black box, putting that back inside the open drawer Gabi had pulled it from. There. Now to finish up picking up that drawers she knocked over. Looks like it was just fabric for the most part. 

He finished cleaning up and went back downstairs, sitting on the couch and turning on the TV while his mind raced. 

They’d been together for nine years and truthfully he wasn’t sure they’d ever get married, not that he minded because they had a sweet little family and warm home without marriage so clearly it didn’t matter that much. But at the same time now all he could think about was Reiner standing there in a tuxedo saying “I do.” And now that he was thinking about it, he wanted it. 

The door opened after a few minutes, Reiner coming in with some childproofing supplies. “Hey, I got your text so I picked these up on the way home.” He put them down by the door and walked to the couch, plopping himself down next to Bertholdt. Reiner moved to press a kiss to Bertholdt’s cheek, Bertholdt smiling when he did so. “Is the little hellion asleep?” 

“Yes, finally. She’s wrecked just about everything today.” Reiner chuckled at that and started to reach for the TV remote. “Don’t even try. She took the batteries out and I haven’t found them yet.” 

“Oh. We’ll find them. If not we can just buy more.” Reiner stood up and went to the kitchen, Bertholdt following him. “Hey, uh, Bertholdt? I was thinking next weekend you and I could go on a date to that nice restaurant down by the lake? We can leave Gabi with mom while you and I go out. I thought we could rent a little cabin too.” 

Oh dear sweet jesus there it was, he bought the ring like three days ago and now he was suggesting going away for a weekend with a special date. Bertholdt tried his damnedest to keep a poker face, casually nodding his head. “That sounds like it’d be really nice. Think Karina can handle Gabi for a weekend?” 

Reiner looked like he was in thought for a moment. “…Think we should ask Porco and Pieck instead? Or did you want to stay home?” 

“I want to go out with you, Reiner. It’s been a while since we had time to ourselves, as much as I love her. Let’s ask Pieck and Porco.” Reiner didn’t seem to pick up on anything if he was showing any indication he knew about the ring. 

Good. 

  


“Will you marry me?” Bertholdt knew it was coming. He could tell Reiner was nervous while they ate their dinner. He saw Reiner kept putting his hand in his pocket over the course of the night. He kept staring at him. He insisted they go somewhere they’d be alone and Reiner took him to the deck of their little cabin on the lake. 

Reiner looked like he was sweating bullets. He swallowed and kept the nervous grin on his face. 

Even though he knew it was coming Bertholdt couldn’t help but tear up a little. “Yes, yes, of course I will.” Reiner grinned and stood back up, picking Bertholdt up by the waist and spinning them around. He put Bertholdt back down and took the ring out of the box, putting it on Bertholdt’s finger. 

“I knew it’d look perfect on you,” Reiner joked, Bertholdt looking at the ring much more closely than he did when Gabi found it. “Do you like it?” 

“I’d love any ring you got me, Reiner,” Bertholdt let Reiner hug him, the two of them linking arms after a few moments and walking together back inside their cabin. “But it’s beautiful.” 

“I knew you didn’t like diamonds so I tried to pick out something else.” Bertholdt hummed and let Reiner lean his head on his shoulder while they walked. “I almost got an emerald but thought you’d like the black.” 

“I’m going to have to go out and buy you an engagement ring too.” Bertholdt thought about it for a quick moment. Reiner seemed like the type who would love a bold ruby. But maybe a delicate aquamarine would work for him, too. He’d probably wear it on a chain around his neck given how much he worked with his hands… 

“You don’t have to do that, Bertl,” Reiner lifted his head off Bertholdt’s shoulder when they went inside, him hanging up his coat and kicking off his shoes by the door. “I wanted to get you something special. Because I want to marry you. And I love you.” 

“But I want to marry you and I love you too,” Bertholdt closed the door and embraced his new fiancé. Reiner put his hands on Bertholdt’s shoulders and held him back. “I’m going to save up and get you something nice.” 

“Just get me a nice wedding ring, then. I don’t need two rings.” Reiner pecked his cheek. Then his other cheek. Then his nose. Reiner gave a quick, cheeky grin before kissing his lips. “When do you want to get married?” 

Bertholdt kissed Reiner back, smiling down at Reiner. “Hmm. What about the summertime? Early summer, when all the flowers are blooming. It’d be beautiful.” 

“That sounds fine to me. Gabi will be a little older, if she’s three she can be our little flower girl.” Reiner’s heart almost couldn’t take the mental image of Gabi in a cute little dress tossing petals around. He kissed Bertholdt passionately, Bertholdt returning the favor and clutching his hair. 

“Should we change our names?” Bertholdt got out, Reiner kissing his neck and eliciting a gasp. 

“I don’t care. Reiner Hoover. Bertholdt Braun. I don’t care.” Reiner said, snaking a hand down and unbuttoning his pants. Bertholdt groaned into his ear, breathing hotly into it. 

“Call me Bertholdt Braun again.” Bertholdt breathed, Reiner smirking and leading him toward their bedroom, whispering the name over and over again and getting Reiner Hoover back in response. 

Later on, Bertholdt ran his thumb along the simple ring later while Reiner spooned him, mesmerized by the thoughtful gift. 

He’d have to get a spectacular wedding ring for Reiner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I've gotten a couple:  
> You can request prompts that imply Gabi is an adult but they might not get posted for a while. I have what I had imagined as the end of the fic in mind and adult Gabi fills would start showing up when I'm about to finish the fic. 
> 
> That's not to say you can't request young adult Gabi, I've written three chapters of her as 18+ but just haven't posted them yet hehe.


	23. Cryptid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 13, Bertholdt is 35, Reiner is 36.

Reiner stood in the doorway, watching his husband with his arms crossed and one eyebrow cocked. A ghost of a smile lingered on his face, Bertholdt’s face sporting a focused expression while he packed. 

“You’re actually doing it, aren’t you?” Reiner asked, Bertholdt making a grunting sound. “And taking Gabi, too.” 

“I know you don’t believe but Gabi and I are ready to prove you wrong.” Bertholdt said, packing his dark clothing into the tote bag. “Even if it’s not this time. I swear to god I’m going to make you and everyone else eat your words. The Marleyan Moth is definitely real.” 

“Bertholdt. You’ve been hunting for the Marleyan Moth since we were kids. Don’t you think you’d have found it by now if it were real?” Bertholdt immediately grabbed the field guide and opened it to the page with the Marleyan Moth. “Plus doesn’t a vaguely humanoid moth sound a little farfetched to you?” 

“Just because nobody has caught a Marleyan Moth alive doesn’t mean it isn’t real!” Bertholdt wasn’t mad despite the fact that he raised his voice just a little. More… defensive. “And don’t even start about the whole ‘oh they’ve never found a body’ thing because animals would eat it and it’d decompose! It’s not like people are always finding dead animals in the wild anyways! They get eaten, bodies don’t just lay around.” 

Reiner bit his tongue to keep himself from chuckling at how passionate his husband was about the Marleyan Moth. He was getting so defensive and deep down… part of him thought it was cute. Bertholdt was really going all-out for his cryptid-hunting excursion with Gabi. The back of Bertholdt’s SUV was filled with everything they’d need to go out and survive for a couple of days. It was summer break for Gabi, so Bertholdt took a week off of work, four of those days out in the woods with Gabi. 

He was truly in awe of the fact that Bertholdt had somehow gotten Gabi as enthusiastic as he was. The two of them really were going out and doing this, weren’t they? And Bertholdt had taken Gabi out “surviving” before. She could sleep under a log and she’d be fine. 

What was he going to do for four days with Bertholdt and Gabi gone? Some wine and a bubble bath soak sounded nice… he and Porco could go have a little boy’s day with Marcel. He could do whatever he wanted and Bertholdt wouldn’t get annoyed about some of his bad habits. 

Maybe he’d even eat in bed a little. Bertholdt lost his mind every time he even tried but if he wasn’t around and all the evidence was gone before he got back… 

Bertholdt finished packing his last bit of supplies, taking everything and getting ready to leave. It was early afternoon; the Marleyan Moth was supposedly nocturnal and they were going to be hunting for it at night, so leaving in the daytime gave them plenty of time to set up a temporary living space and to get ready to find the cryptid. “Ready, Gabi?” 

Gabi came out from the living room, Reiner smiling at the little camoflauge outfit she was wearing. “Yeah! I’m gonna get that Marleyan Moth!” Gabi marched up to Reiner and reached up, poking a finger to his chest. “And I’m going to prove you wrong! Me and Bert are going to find him and prove everyone wrong!” 

“Are you going to kill it?” Reiner asked, scratching the back of his head and smiling at his daughter. He had seen Bertholdt putting his airgun rifle he kept locked away into the back of his vehicle. 

“I don’t want to kill the Marleyan Moth but if we have to, we have to. I might shoot a rabbit or squirrel and cook it, though.” Bertholdt said matter-of-factly, Reiner nodding his head. “Although if we’re able to bring back a carcass we could easily prove it’s real. But I’m sure the Marleyan Moth must be critically endangered if so few people have seen one…” 

“Well, good luck you two. Have fun.” Reiner leaned down and kissed Gabi’s cheek, her grimacing and pulling away when he did so. Reiner shook his head playfully and turned to face his husband, giving him a goodbye kiss. “Prove me wrong.” 

“Oh, we plan on it!” Gabi said when she hopped into the passenger side of Bertholdt’s vehicle. Bertholdt smiled and kissed his husband back. 

“I want something special if I prove you wrong.” Bertholdt said suggestively. Reiner laughed and kissed him one last time before pulling away and crossing his arms. 

“Well, prove me wrong and I’ll give you _anything_ you want. See you in a few days, love. Have fun. Don’t let Gabi go completely feral. I like having her at least partially civilized.” 

Bertholdt laughed and got into the car, flashing a grin at Gabi. “Let’s do this!” 

“Yeah!” 

  


It was the second day of their excursion, Bertholdt and Gabi having had no luck the night before searching for the Marleyan Moth. They had done extensive research on the cryptid beforehand, and were in the heart of the territory it was most commonly spotted in. And Bertholdt had been hunting for it since his childhood; there wasn’t a team around more prepared for it. 

“Just hold the gun in your hands like I showed you before…” Bertholdt said quietly to Gabi, helping to move her hands and sitting behind her to help her out, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Breathe in and out slowly… and take your aim… and whenever you’re ready, just pull the trigger.” 

After a moment Gabi pulled the trigger, a little surprised by the recoil but much better than the first time she tried. Bertholdt stood immediately, looking to where she shot. “Did I get it?” 

“Put the gun down while I check.” Bertholdt went out to where she was aiming, picking up the dead rabbit. “Got it!” Minimal damage, too. Gabi was good with the rifle. He walked back over to her with the rabbit. “If we get another, you and I can both have one. I haven’t eaten rabbit in forever.” 

“Are we gonna skin it now? Will you show me?” Bertholdt nodded, inspecting the rabbit. Not a big one, but not tiny. Male. 

“Of course.” After some time they managed to get another, the two of them returning to where they had set up their small campsite. They ate their food, taking notes on the weather and taking a nap while they waited for night to fall. 

“Let’s make the bait again!” Gabi chirped, the two of them having gotten up in the late evening to prepare again. Bertholdt lit the campfire and got the large pan ready, Gabi pouring in the brown ale. It simmered for a few minutes before Gabi poured in the bag of brown sugar and the black treacle. After the bait was ready the two of them took their brushes and painted the bait onto the trees. 

They set up a lantern to provide a light source to draw out the Marleyan Moth, then climbed into the tree stand that Bertholdt had set up for them. Bertholdt kept the rifle, using the thermal imaging scope on it while Gabi wore nightvision goggles. 

Bertholdt would have a stroke if he knew that at that very moment Reiner was laying on their bed with a plate of food sitting comfortably on his stomach. 

The wine ropes that they had made and their bait were doing an excellent job drawing out ordinary moths, much to their frustration. That was exactly what Reiner said would happen. 

They _had_ to prove him wrong! 

  


It was the last day of their excursion, both of them desperate to find their beloved Marleyan Moth. Not that the trip had been a total loss up to that point; they both felt much closer to one another and they had killed a couple of rabbits, the meat yummy after Bertholdt had cooked it and the pelts soft. They'd do something with them. 

“We can try again later if we can’t find it this time.” Bertholdt said while he painted the bait onto the trees again. Gabi was putting up the wine ropes, determined to draw out the legend itself. “I’ve had a lot of fun out here with you, sweetheart.” 

“I’d like that, Bert.” Gabi smiled at him, the two of them taking their spots in the tree stand and sitting comfortably. 

They weren’t sure how much time passed, but the sun had gone down and a bunch of plain old ordinary moths were covering the areas where they left the bait. 

Gabi’s ears perked when she heard a twig snap, her snapping her head around and focusing on her surroundings. 

Some sort of large _thing_ was walking around down there, it was going to scare away the Marleyan Moth… 

It walked up to one of the trees, Gabi noticing the large and fluffy antennae on its head. She took her elbow and gently elbowed Bertholdt on the side, pointing it out to him. He breathed in sharply, putting a hand on her shoulder. The two of them sat absolutely still, watching the creature wrap its arms around the trunk of the tree while it… licked? Was it licking the bark? They couldn’t see its face but it was doing something. 

“The Marleyan Moth…” Bertholdt whispered so quietly Gabi almost didn’t hear it. She put her hand on his thigh, squeezing when she wasn’t sure what to do. “Gabi, get the camcorder…” 

“Y-yeah…” Gabi reached for the camcorder, carefully turning it on and focusing it in the direction of the Marleyan Moth down at the tree. She smiled a giddy smile while she recorded the creature. Reiner would be wrong and she’d be right! 

Of course they’d probably be able to make some money off of this, too… but mostly Reiner would be wrong! And she’d be right! 

Bertholdt’s thoughts about Reiner being wrong were much more inappropriate, but Gabi didn’t need to know that. He watched the cryptid carefully through the scope of his rifle, frowning when it stepped away from the tree. It didn’t turn around so neither of them got a look at its face while it walked over to one of the wine ropes that was covered in ordinary moths. 

Both of them grimaced, their expressions falling and becoming mildly horrified when they saw it eat all the moths on the rope. They couldn’t see its face, though… they could just tell that’s what it was doing… 

Gabi felt her nose tickle. 

No. No no _no_ not now, not here, of all times and of all places. 

Bertholdt noticed her look like she was getting ready to sneeze, him freezing and his expression alarmed. 

_Achoo!_

Gabi froze and looked at Bertholdt apologetically, then turned to look where the Marleyan Moth had been. Bertholdt followed her gaze, both of them expecting it to be gone. 

…Oh? It was still standing there, but it had straightened out, its posture much less relaxed. It turned to look in their direction, Gabi freezing at the sight. The camcorder shook in her hands, Bertholdt stiffening considerably when he looked up from the scope. 

“Oh my god, what the fuck…” Gabi swallowed. Bertholdt almost never said fuck. Not around her, anyways. 

But those massive, faintly glowing red eyes staring straight at them scared her more than she had ever been, and she could tell Bertholdt was afraid too. He swallowed, his grip on his rifle tightening. 

The Marleyan Moth immediately opened its massive wings, launching itself into the air. Bertholdt reacted instantly, pulling the trigger of his rifle but missing his mark. He moved the rifle, feeling his stomach turn when he lost sight of it. 

“Bert!” Gabi gasped, Bertholdt turning around and seeing the Marleyan Moth barreling towards them. Bertholdt started to turn to point the rifle at the creature, but instead the creature rammed itself into their tree stand. Gabi and Bertholdt both yelped, the rifle tumbling out of Bertholdt’s grip and falling to the ground. He caught Gabi, her holding his arm tightly while he dangled from the stand. “Bert! I’m scared!” 

“It’s okay, sweetheart, I—” Bertholdt started to reassure her, alarmed when he saw those red eyes propelling itself toward him again. He gasped, his eyes wide, before everything went black. 

  


Bertholdt opened his eyes groggily, his head pounding. He was laying on the ground, his legs and arms hurting. The sun was coming up over the horizon. He frowned and sat up, his eyes immediately shooting open. 

“Gabi!” He sat up immediately, his body beyond sore. “Gabi!” He quickly scanned the area, seeing her on the ground close by. He darted over to her, sitting down on the ground beside her and scooping her up so that her head rested against his chest. 

“Bert…” Gabi groaned, clutching at his chest and squirming a little. He held her for a minute before adjusting, Gabi waking up. Her face had a scratch on it, but when he checked her body she had a sizeable bruise on her backside. “Where’s the camcorder?” 

The two of them scanned the area, Gabi’s heart dropping when she found the smashed device. “Bert… it’s destroyed…” 

“…Damn it all.” Bertholdt shook his head and looked it over. It looked like it had been stomped on by something. Did the Marleyan Moth destroy this on purpose? 

“Bert! Look!” Gabi said excitedly, coming up to him with what appeared to be a large black claw. “I think it’s from the Marleyan Moth! What else out here could’ve dropped something like this?” 

“Good job, Gabi!” Bertholdt smiled, checking out the claw. He nodded in satisfaction and put it into his bag, tousling Gabi’s hair. “We need to head home soon, sweetheart. Let’s start packing everything up, okay?” 

The two of them got everything put up, getting into the vehicle and heading home. 

“Bert?” Gabi asked after a little while. 

“What’s up, Gabi?” He asked, watching the road carefully. They looked like a mess. They hadn’t really been too concerned about staying completely clean while they were out. He was sure they smelled bad but they were used to one another. Their hair was really greasy, and his face was covered in stubble. 

“Next time we come out, I want my own rifle and we’re going to get that Marleyan Moth!” Bertholdt laughed and felt his heart swell with pride. 

“That’s my girl! We’ll get him for sure next time!” 

The two of them chattered, listened to music and enjoyed one another’s company until they pulled up to their home, Reiner sitting outside on the porch petting a stray cat that wandered around the neighborhood. He smiled at the sight of them pulling up, standing up and approaching the vehicle. 

“There’s the two loves of my life, did you-” Reiner recoiled a little at the sight of them, and the smell of them. “Wow! You, uh… you smell interesting.” 

“Shut up, Reiner.” Gabi said, crossing her arms and frowning. Normally Bertholdt would scold her and tell her not to talk to Reiner like that, but not today. 

“Yeah. Shut up.” Reiner smiled and gave them both a quick hug regardless. 

“Did you find your little Marleyan Moth?” Reiner teased, popping open the back of Bertholdt’s SUV and starting to unload their stuff. 

“As a matter of fact, we did. He destroyed my camcorder.” Gabi kept her arms crossed while she spoke. Reiner smiled at her smugly. 

“Oh, you did, but he destroyed your camcorder? So you’re saying you conveniently lost your proof?” Gabi grit her teeth a little. “It’s okay to say you didn’t find him.” 

“It’s true, Reiner! We found the Marleyan Moth but he attacked us!” Reiner laughed again, patting Bertholdt’s back. Bertholdt’s expression dropped, him turning and looking to Gabi, who looked back at him. 

“I don’t suppose you have any other proof?” Reiner asked, sporting a grin that would honestly make Bertholdt want to punch him in the face if he were literally anyone else. Bertholdt remembered the claw and got it, handing it to Reiner. “A claw? Is this from a bear or something?” 

“No! It’s from the Marleyan Moth!” Reiner cocked a brow at his husband. 

“So you’re telling me your moth person has claws now?” Bertholdt frowned and snatched the claw back from Reiner. To say he was beyond frustrated would be an understatement. 

“You know what? Gabi and I are going to go out again and I swear we’re going to bring it back and make you eat your words!” With that, Bertholdt made his leave and went into the house, Gabi sticking her tongue out at Reiner on her way in. 

Reiner laughed and took in a couple of their tote bags, hearing the familiar sound of the shower running. Looks like Gabi was done looking like a feral child. That was nice, at least. 

“Hey, Bertl?” Reiner asked, opening and closing the door to their bedroom. Bertholdt was standing in his underwear in front of the shower, his hand inside while he felt the water temperature. 

“Huh?” Bertholdt turned and looked at Reiner, stripping off his underwear and getting into the shower. 

“You should keep that stubble for a couple of days. I think it’s kinda hot.” Bertholdt rolled his eyes and went back into the shower. 

“Not a chance.” 

Oh well. It was worth a shot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So one of the cryptids a little more famous in the part of the world I'm from is the Mothman, which is basically what the Marleyan Moth was supposed to be. If you google mothman, the pictures of the black bipedal creatures with the red eyes were what I had in mind when I wrote this.


	24. Sneaking Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 12, Marcel is 14, Porco/Bertholdt are 34, Reiner/Pieck are 35
> 
> An old sitcom inspired me to write this one. Hehe.
> 
> I feel like this chapter makes it harder to tell. They're all supposed to live in a small-town-ish suburb of a city (the city being Liberio).

“Got everything you need, Gabi?” Reiner asked, leaning in her doorway and finding her laying on her bed with her cellphone. Gabi cocked an eyebrow at Reiner but went back to her phone. 

“I have a key to the house, why does it matter? Doesn’t Porco have a key to the house for emergencies? It’s not like I can’t come back and get whatever I need.” Reiner shook his head and kept his eyes on her. 

“What’s the point in going over to the Galliard’s for the long weekend if you plan on coming back here anyways?” Gabi blinked and didn’t feel like arguing at all. Instead she stood and grabbed a couple of outfits from her closet, tossing them into her tote bag. The look Gabi gave him made Reiner want to get irritated; she was getting to be that age where she thought it was cute to be a smartass. “There. Get whatever you want to take over and what you can’t live without.” 

“Okay, geez, I’ll do it.” Reiner made his leave, Gabi putting her phone charger in. Her lotion she got from the mall, nicely scented. Her hairbrush. She didn’t need much. The Galliards had plenty of stuff for her to use, and she had a key to the house if she needed it. Reiner was just being stupid. She came out of her room, crossing her arms and putting her bag by the door. “I’m ready.” 

“Alright, give me just a second.” Bert said from the kitchen, Reiner standing next to him and looking at her over his shoulder. Gabi opened the door. It was nice and warm outside. The spring was drawing to a close, the warm almost-summer air pleasant. School would be out really soon. 

“Actually, I can just walk to their house.” Gabi said, slinging her bag over her shoulder when she walked back into the kitchen. 

“You sure? We don’t mind to give you a ride, sweetheart.” Reiner asked, Gabi shaking her head. 

“I don’t mind. It’s nice and warm out.” Reiner leaned down and kissed the top of Gabi’s head, her pulling away with a frown. “Hey, you’re messing up my hair!” 

“Sorry, dear. Have fun with the Galliards, okay? If you need anything just give us a call.” Gabi nodded and grabbed her set of keys to the house, making her way to Marcel’s house. It really was a nice day in spite of the rain earlier. 

  


“Pieck and I need to work on some paperwork so if you need us we’ll be in our room, okay? Just knock.” Marcel mindlessly nodded on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV. Porco turned around, grabbing a stack of papers off the dining table and going into his room with Pieck. “We’ll see you in the morning if we decide to sleep when we finish.” 

“They always have work to do. Dad needs to relax more.” Marcel changed the input on the TV and turned on his game console, handing a controller to Gabi. She’d been over for a few hours at this point, night having fallen some time ago. Porco had made some chicken for them, and Pieck made some yummy potatoes. 

“I feel that. Reiner’s car broke down a couple of weeks ago and now he and Bert are snippier than usual. They were plenty happy to have me gone for the weekend.” Marcel laughed at Gabi, selecting multiplayer on his game. 

“Of course they’re excited to have you gone. They’re probably going to do it all weekend.” Gabi grimaced and shook her head. 

“You’re just trying to distract me so you’ll beat me!” Marcel laughed again. 

“Guilty as charged.” Marcel leaned back, expertly controlling his character but feeling frustrated when Gabi got the upper hand. He was the one who played all the time! He rolled his eyes when Gabi lucked out and beat him. “I don’t wanna play this.” 

“Why? ‘Cause you lost?” Gabi teased, cocking a brow at Marcel when he frowned at her. He shook his head and adjusted himself on the couch. 

“No.” Gabi gave Marcel an accusatory look before he rolled his eyes. “There’s this new arcade that opened up downtown recently. I’ve been dying to go but mom and dad haven’t taken me because ‘they’re busy’ and ‘maybe later.’” Marcel looked like he was in thought for a minute, then turned to look behind the couch. Gabi followed his eyes, looking to Pieck and Porco’s bedroom. 

“What are you thinking, Marcel?” Gabi asked after a second, her voice low. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at it, tossing it aside onto the arm of the couch. He looked at Gabi carefully. 

“Hey, do your parents have any trackers on your phone?” Marcel asked, Gabi’s expression setting into a confused frown. She shook her head slowly. Marcel’s face set into a grin. “Let’s sneak out and go to the arcade.” 

“What?!” Gabi asked incredulously, Marcel frowning and bringing up a finger in a shushing gesture, nodding his head at his parent’s door. “…Sorry. What?” 

“My parents have that dumb ‘find my friends’ shit turned on for the next few months as punishment for that whole thing that happened last month. So I gotta leave my phone here. But we can take yours and sneak out.” 

“You want to sneak out?” Marcel nodded excitedly at her. Gabi swallowed, then thought about it. Bert and Reiner were at home and she knew from past experience she wouldn’t hear from them until at least tomorrow afternoon. They left her alone when she slept over with friends. 

“I got plenty of money.” 

It sounded exciting. Gabi swallowed and turned back to look at Porco and Pieck’s door again. “What about your parents?” Marcel gave her a sly smile. 

“Don’t worry about them. Mom and dad usually just go to sleep after they do paperwork. If not they’ll leave us alone anyways because they know teenagers don’t like being bothered.” Marcel and Gabi went to his room, Marcel opening the window to his room. Gabi hopped out of the window, standing there while Marcel grabbed a large wad of bills from a drawer in his room. “Got your phone, just in case?” 

“Yeah, I got it. And my house keys. Just in case.” Marcel nodded in satisfaction, taking his own key to his house. He left the window cracked open just a hair so they could get back in. 

“To the arcade! We can take the bus that stops on the corner a couple of blocks from here.” 

  


“Hmm, we never get time alone like this.” Bertholdt said, kissing Reiner’s temple then reaching over to grab his wine glass. He took a sip, Reiner chuckling and nuzzling into the crook of Bertholdt’s neck. “I think the last time was when Gabi went on that overnight field trip with her class.” 

“Yeah, this is nice.” Reiner took a sip of his wine, putting it on the table. “And we get tonight and tomorrow night and the night after, too. It’s gonna be great.” 

Bertholdt moved to kiss Reiner again, cooing sweet words of affection at his husband. Reiner returned the favor; had Gabi been there she would have called them disgusting. Bertholdt nuzzled Reiner’s neck, noticing the faded smell of cologne on him. “Mmm. Cedar and cinnamon?” 

“Hehe. You know me so well, Bertl.” Reiner took another sip of his wine, Bertholdt kissing his neck and taking in the nearly-gone scent. 

“Of course I do. We’ve been together for twenty years. I know all your little habits and tricks.” Bertholdt teased Reiner, keeping his free arm wrapped around his shoulders. Reiner kept his free hand on Bertholdt’s thigh, squeezing the meat of it. 

“That’s fine, I know everything about you too.” Reiner took a drink of his wine, then set the glass down on the table so he could nuzzle his husband more. Bertholdt chuckled after a second. 

“No you don’t.” Reiner laughed at Bertholdt’s teasing tone and kissed his neck, earning a soft moan. 

“If you’re such a _mysterious man_ then how about you tell me a secret then, hmm?” Reiner teased, Bertholdt’s face flushing and him looking at Reiner sheepishly. 

“Well… it isn’t really a ‘secret’ but… I’ve fantasized about a couple of things before but they’re embarrassing…” Reiner smiled a sultry smile and leaned his head closer to Bertholdt’s mouth. 

“They can’t be too much for me, dear… I have embarrassing fantasies too.” Reiner said suggestively, gesturing for Bertholdt to whisper his fantasy into his ear. Bertholdt whispered his desires into Reiner’s ear, noticing a lack of reaction and a blank expression on Reiner’s face, his brows slightly furrowed. 

“Uh, sorry, Reiner, they’re just dumb fantasies, you know, like-” 

“Wanna go to the sex shop and buy all the stuff we’d need to do that?” Reiner asked, giving Bertholdt a look to die for. Bertholdt swallowed. “Maybe a few other things just because?” 

“Really?” Reiner nodded. Bertholdt grinned a wide grin, the two of them abandoning their sipped-on wine glasses and giggling like teenagers on their way out the door. 

  


“Hehe! Hey, no fair!” Gabi said, sitting on the motorcycle that she used to control the motorcycle in the game. Marcel gave Gabi a shit-eating grin, leaning to the side on his motorcycle so he could swing into first place on the game. The two of them laughed, both of them taking the tickets from the machine when the game was over. “What next, Marcel?” 

“Let’s go check out that dinosaur hunting game!” Gabi grinned widely. 

“Yeah! Bert played those with me so much, I’ve got the best aim around!” Gabi bragged, the two of them running over to the machine and putting in their money. They used the plastic shotgun to aim at and shoot the virtual dinosaurs, Gabi racking up more points with precise shots to the pterodactyls in the background. She laughed and took the tickets that came out of the machine smugly. 

“How long have we been here, Gabi?” She glanced at her cell phone. It’d been a little while. 

“Couple of hours. We should probably head back soon. I don’t want to be out here with my phone battery dead.” Marcel shrugged his shoulders. 

“Makes sense.” Marcel took his tickets and put them into the ticket counter, slipping the receipt into his wallet. 

“What should we buy with our tickets?” Gabi asked, nodding in satisfaction at the ticket total printed on her receipt. She folded it up and popped off her phone case, putting the receipt inside and putting the case back on. Marcel shook his head. 

“We can’t buy anything tonight, mom and dad will wonder where it came from and if you took something home Bert and Reiner might ask about it.” Gabi nodded. 

“Hey, what time does the last bus head back to the stop close to your house?” Gabi asked as the two of them walked out of the arcade. It was getting pretty late. 

“What time is it now?” Marcel and Gabi walked in the direction of the bus stop, the two of them walking close to one another. They weren’t in a bad part of Liberio at all, but at the same time they _were_ out late with no adult around. 

“Uh… 10:43?” Marcel paled, looking at Gabi quickly. 

“Oh, shit!” Marcel started sprinting, Gabi surprised but running behind him to catch up. He skidded to a halt, the two of them watching a bus driving off into the distance. Marcel caught his breath, shaking his head. “No! Come back!” Marcel growled. “The next bus isn’t for an hour and a half…” 

“Shit…” Gabi panted next to Marcel, shaking her head. She started to feel anxiety bubbling in her stomach, but that quickly faded whenever she remembered she was with Marcel. He was probably one of the smartest people she’d ever met. He’d figure something out. 

“Damn it.” Marcel crossed his arms, his expression set into one of intense focus. Gabi bit her lip while he thought. “There’s another bus that we can catch. We have to walk to the shopping plaza about a mile from here. It has a transfer that’ll get us closer to your house than mine.” 

“We need to walk to the plaza. What if we miss that bus?” Marcel frowned at Gabi. 

“Don’t say that! You’ll jinx us!” Marcel crossed his arms, the two of them setting off towards the shopping plaza. “…But if we did miss it we’d just have to walk home…” 

The two of them chattered a little on their way to the shopping plaza. The bus was almost ready to pull in to the bus stop, the two of them arriving with just a little time to spare. 

“Hey, look, there’s one of those stores where they sells dildos and stuff, hehe.” Marcel said, his eyes going wide like a deer in headlights. He grabbed hold of Gabi’s shirt and jerked on her, ducking them behind some bushes. “With your parents coming out!?” 

“What!?” The two of them peeked up over the bush, Gabi grimacing in horror at the sight of Bert and Reiner walking out of the sex shop together. Marcel was snickering beside her. 

“Look at that, they’ve both got two bags in each hand! Ha! Haha! They were waiting for you to leave for a few days weren’t they?” Gabi elbowed Marcel in the side, hard, freezing when they noticed her parents walking towards them. 

“Where’s their car? We need to get away!” Gabi froze in horror when she saw Bert raise the key fob and hit the unlock button on his car; their car was right next to the damn bus stop? Really? 

“Shit! Shit!!” Marcel whisper-yelled, the two of them sneaking around the bush so they didn’t get spotted. The bus was coming to the stop right now! Why were Bert and Reiner walking so slowly? 

Both of them deflated as the bus stopped and dropped off its passengers while Bert and Reiner put their bags into the back seat of the car. The bus drove away as Bert started the car, the two of them headed home with quite the haul. 

Gabi’s eye twitched. Marcel looked at Gabi with a defeated expression. “Guess we’re walking…” 

“Can this get any worse? Jesus…” Gabi tripped over a stray rock and dropped her phone. She could deal with a shattered screen. What she couldn’t deal with was the fact that her phone fell into a pothole that was filled with water from the rain that afternoon. 

“…I think it got worse.” Gabi balled her fist up and punched Marcel’s arm in frustration. 

  


Porco shook his head, rubbing at his temples. Christ. The bank was pissing him off. Pieck sighed. Taxes were annoying. Mortgages were annoying. Pieck having to secure funding and grants for her research was annoying. Money was annoying. At least their little family was financially secure. 

“Let’s call it a night, piggy…” Pieck said tiredly, running her hand through her hair. She leaned into his shoulder, Porco closing his eyes and rubbing her shoulder. “I think Marcel knows we’ve been stressed lately, he’s been so well-behaved.” 

“I know. He and Gabi both stayed quiet enough all night. Let’s go get something to drink and go to sleep.” Pieck nodded and stood up with her husband, the two of them putting their paperwork on the desk and heading out of their room. “Hey, Pieck… are you too tired to-” 

“No, we can do it. Let’s just check on the kiddos first.” The two of them walked into the living room, Pieck noticing Marcel’s phone on the arm of the couch. Weird. Usually he kept it glued to his side. She walked over and grabbed his phone. She’d plug it in for him. “Marcel left his phone in here.” 

“Huh.” Porco gave Pieck a glass of water, the two of them drinking and heading to Marcel’s room. Porco opened the door and frowned. “…Where’s Marcel? Where’s Gabi?” Pieck frowned alongside her husband. She opened Marcel’s phone, frustrated that she didn’t know the passcode on his phone. 

“Do you have Gabi’s cell phone number?” Porco nodded and grabbed his phone from his pocket, clicking the picture of Gabi to dial the number. The two listened in silence, walking around the house and listening for the sound of her phone. Nothing. 

Porco walked into Marcel’s room, looking around carefully. “…Son of a bitch.” His fist balled up, Pieck coming in at the sound of Porco’s voice dropping lowly. “The window’s open.” 

Pieck’s eyes narrowed. Porco tried to swallow the lump in the back of his throat when he saw Pieck’s fist ball up. 

He almost felt scared for Marcel. 

Almost. 

  


“You’ve been such a bad boy, I gotta punish you…” Bertholdt growled, Reiner letting out a pleased sound underneath him. “So naughty…” 

“Oh, Bertl, punish me~” Reiner whined and closed his eyes, drooling into the pillow underneath him. His cell phone started ringing, Reiner reaching over and hitting the silence button while he let Bertholdt have his way with him. 

They needed to share fantasies more often. He wasn’t sure he had it in him for a round three tonight but they had two more days and nights before Gabi was back. 

“Bertl~ I’ve been so bad, punish me more…” Reiner glanced at the paddle on the floor and smiled. He frowned when his cellphone rang again, reaching over and silencing it. Bertholdt rolled his eyes and went back to the task at hand. Reiner grit his teeth in frustration when his phone started ringing a third time. “God damn it. Hold on, Bertl.” 

Reiner grabbed his phone off his nightstand and looked at the picture on the screen. Porco? Now? At this hour? Two missed calls, one Pieck and one Porco? Bertholdt leaned down so his chest was flush to Reiner’s back. “Hello?” 

“Reiner. It’s Porco.” 

“I’m aware. What do you want? I’m busy.” Porco’s eyes went half-lidded on the other end of the conversation. Busy at this hour meant one thing. 

“Sorry to interrupt your _business,_ but we have a little situation here.” Bertholdt leaned down and started pressing kisses along Reiner’s jawline, Reiner pulling the phone away from his mouth when he sighed. 

“Then deal with your situation, and let me get back to what I was doing.” Porco frowned again, half-tempted to throw his phone against the wall. 

“Gabi and Marcel snuck out while Pieck and I were working and Gabi isn’t answering her phone.” Porco said before Reiner could interrupt him. Radio silence on the other end of the line. He pulled the phone from his ear to make sure he was still connected. “Reiner…?” 

“She. _What?_ ” That was Bertholdt. Reiner put him on speakerphone. 

“Gabi and Marcel snuck out through the window. Pieck and I just found the window opened.” 

“…We’ll be over in a few minutes.” Porco swallowed again. He could hear the fury in Bertholdt’s voice. Bertholdt and Pieck being mad was a bad combination. 

_Now_ he felt bad for Gabi and Marcel. 

  
“You’d better pick up the phone now young lady, you understand? Stop just letting your phone ring, I already know you took it with you.” Bertholdt said seriously, leaving Gabi a voicemail on her phone. He hit the button to end the call and shook his head. Reiner was squeezing the steering wheel of his car, quickly pulling into the driveway of his friend’s house. “She’s twelve! Doesn’t she have any idea how dangerous it can be to just be out there like that?”

“I know… I think I’m going to be sick I’m so worried.” Reiner shook his head and leaned on the steering wheel. “Part of me feels hypocritical because we snuck out to have sex all the time when we were teenagers.” 

“This isn’t the same, Reiner.” Bertholdt nodded a little at Reiner’s point and ran a hand along his husband’s back. “We were older and had a car, and it wasn’t this late. …I think I’d be less upset if we caught Gabi sneaking out when she was older.” 

The two of them got out of the car, hurrying over to the front door and finding it unlocked. Porco and Pieck… if looks could kill. Porco had an apologetic expression on his face when he saw Reiner and Bertholdt. 

“Hey, I’m _so_ sorry, if we’d have kept a better eye on them…” Reiner shook his head. 

“No. We were all teenagers once, you know they’d have done it anyways. I’m not mad at you, Porco.” Reiner moved to sit down on the couch, Bertholdt sitting next to him. “Gabi, though? Different story. I was mad but I wasn’t _pissed_ until she ignored our phone calls.” 

“I hope she and Marcel had fun tonight. Because that’s the last time he’s going to be out having fun for a long time.” Pieck spoke calmly and deliberately. “Especially because Marcel knew we could see where he was at if he took his phone. They thought about it.” 

“Should we go out looking for them?” Bertholdt asked, tapping his foot on the floor. Porco shook his head. 

“Pieck and I already drove around the neighborhood a little while we waited for you two to come over. But they have to come back eventually. I locked Marcel’s window so they’ll have to come in through the door.” 

“Then we wait.” Reiner said, trying to bury the fear that Gabi was kidnapped. She was just a dumb teenager. She had to be fine. 

  


“What am I gonna tell Bert and Reiner about my phone? I lost all my tickets, too…” Gabi complained, her feet sore. She’d been walking _forever._ It had to have been at least a couple of hours of walking. It took no time at all when they were on the bus! But at last they recognized the neighborhood they were in. They were close. She was going to collapse as soon as she was back. 

“Just say we were roughhousing and you dropped your phone in the sink. Or the toilet.” Marcel yawned. His feet were sore too. The arcade was fun… but the rest of the night sucked. What a bust. Maybe his parents would take them out to dinner tomorrow night. His mom and dad probably felt guilty for disappearing on them all night. 

God, finally, they could see Marcel’s house. The two of them crept into the backyard, Marcel mindlessly walking to the window of his bedroom. His eyes went wide, finding the window closed. He went to open it. Locked. 

_…Fuck._

Gabi froze at Marcel’s window being locked. Marcel looked at her sheepishly. “…I guess we gotta go in through the front door…” The window was locked which meant someone locked it. Both of them could’ve thrown up. 

Marcel’s hand shook a little while he found the key to his front door on his keyring. He nervously turned to Gabi. “If… if they’ve been worried, they might be relieved and not mad at us? Besides, it’s just my parents, you know how relaxed they usually are…” 

He put the key in and unlocked the door, the two of them opening the door to four pairs of crossed arms and four sets of absolutely furious eyes. All four of them were in cobbled-together pajamas and jackets. 

Marcel swallowed. “Bert… Reiner… it’s good to see you.” His words were sheepish, his fingers twiddling nervously. 

“Good to see you too.” Reiner said flatly. Gabi swallowed. 

They were fucked. 

  


“Hey, Gabi.” Marcel said when he walked past her in the hallway at school. Gabi nodded at him. “Sorry…” 

“…I snuck out with you. It isn’t just your fault.” Gabi blinked. “But I’m grounded and Bert and Reiner took away my laptop. And they’re not getting me a new phone until they decide I’ve earned one.” 

“Yeah… dad took away all my game consoles and put them in his closet. I’m grounded too. Mom and dad are so mad at me. They said they aren’t mad, they’re disappointed. But I know they just said that to try and make me feel better. They’re mad.” Marcel shook his head and looked at the textbook in his arms. He was actually doing his homework in an effort to get on his parent’s good side again. 

“Bert and Reiner sent me to Aunt Karina’s for the rest of the long weekend because they said they wanted their weekend to themselves. Aunt Karina is nice to visit for a few hours but staying overnight means she starts praying and stuff. Plus Reiner told her I was in trouble so she made me do a ton of chores. Staying with her is like living in the past. She’s so old-fashioned. I don’t know how Reiner came from her.” 

Marcel started snickering a little. “Guess they weren’t going to let you getting in trouble get in the way of them testing out all that stuff they bought.” 

“Shut up, Marcel! God!” Gabi slammed her locker shut and turned on her heel, walking away from him. He smiled to himself and turned the other way, headed to class. 

Someday they’d laugh about all this. Today wasn’t that day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've put in a request for this au recently I haven't decided I /won't/ fill any of them but there's one that'll have to be AU. (In other words if you requested it I'll fill it) But that's okay, I don't mind. If it takes a while it's just because I've been busy. I did a 70-hour week at work and I'm considering doing another one soon because I want money for a comic-con. The only drawback is less time to write. ^^;


	25. Isabelle (au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for a second pokkupikku kiddo.   
> Marcel is an only child (he and Gabi are meant to have a sibling-esque relationship) but I went ahead and wrote this anyways as an au chapter. 
> 
> Marcel is 5, then 16.

“Did you have fun today, Marcel?” Marcel shook his head back and forth vigorously, Bert and Reiner chuckling in the front seat. They were driving Marcel home from a fun day at the carnival, a giant pikachu doll crammed into the back of Bertholdt’s SUV. They had thought about just taking Reiner’s little sedan, but had carefully considered the possibility of Bertholdt winning the water gun game and winning a giant doll. 

He even won a giant squirtle for Marcel to take home. 

“Yeah! I liked the ferris wheel! And the little roller coaster!” He looked out the window of the car, putting his hands on the glass. 

“I like the ferris wheel too! I like sitting on Reiner’s lap!” Gabi added, eating from the pouch of fruit snacks Reiner had given her. “Can we go back tomorrow?” 

“Hmm, I don’t know, Gabi. We can ask the Galliards if it’s okay to take Marcel again tomorrow, though.” Reiner passed Marcel a pouch of fruit snacks, him opening them and eating all the red ones first. 

“I want to go to the carnival with mommy and daddy!” Marcel said, thinking about his daddy winning him all sorts of toys and carrying him on his shoulders and his mommy sitting with him in the ferris wheel and giving him cotton candy. 

“Oh, well if the Galliards want to go to the carnival tomorrow we can go too and all have fun.” Bert pulled into the driveway of Marcel’s home, getting out and opening the trunk to get his doll. 

“Bye, Marcel!” Reiner turned around in the seat and gave Marcel a little wave, then glanced at Gabi. “Say bye to Marcel, Gabi.” Gabi turned from looking out the window to Marcel, waving her hand. 

“Bye, Marcel!” Gabi half-yelled, Reiner closing his eyes and recoiling slightly at the loud voice. Marcel waved back at Gabi and hopped out of the car, walking with Bert to the front door of his house. Bertholdt opened the door, letting Marcel walk in before bringing in the toy. 

“Hey, Porco? Pieck? We’re back!” Bertholdt announced their presence, putting the squirtle down in the living room. 

“Thanks, Bertl. Tell Reiner we said hi.” Porco said, coming out of his bedroom with Pieck and sitting down on the couch. Pieck went into the kitchen to grab some water. Marcel hopped onto the couch, moving to sit on his father’s lap. “Hey, buddy, did you have fun with Bert and Reiner?” 

“Yeah! Look what Bert won for me!” Marcel said, pointing at the giant squirtle. Porco chuckled at it, Marcel leaning into his dad’s chest. “I wanted the squirtle so Bert got him for me!” 

“Aww, you didn’t want the charmander?” Porco teased his son, Marcel hopping up and going back to his squirtle doll. “Your mommy would’ve wanted the bulbasaur doll. She thinks bulbasaur is the cutest.” 

“I’m going to name him Donatello. Because he’s my favorite teenage mutant ninja turtle.” Pieck came into the living room after a moment, giving Porco a look and raising her brows. He glanced to Marcel and nodded, darting his eyes to the couch and her moving to sit down next to him. 

“Hey, Marcel, your daddy and I need to talk to you.” Pieck patted her leg, Marcel moving back to the couch and sitting down on his dad’s lap again. 

“I’m not in trouble, am I? Anything Gabi says is a lie!” Marcel said quickly, Porco and Pieck exchanging confused glances to one another. Did he do something that Bertholdt and Reiner didn’t know about while he was out with them? Well… if he did they’d find out soon enough. 

“No, you aren’t in trouble. Marcel, your mommy is pregnant. Do you know what that means?” Porco asked, Marcel looking up at him and shaking his head. “That means that there’s a baby in her tummy and you’re going to be a big brother.” 

“There’s a baby in your tummy? Did you eat it?” Marcel asked, a frown on his face. “I don’t want a brother or sister.” 

Porco and Pieck met one another’s eyes quickly, Marcel’s reaction definitely not the one that they were expecting. They were sure he was going to be excited, but it was so matter-of-fact that it jarred both of them. 

“You don’t want a little brother or sister? Why not?” Pieck asked, cocking her head to the side. Marcel shrugged his shoulders, looking at the ground. 

“I like things now. So you don’t need to give me a brother or sister.” 

“Well, Marcel, the baby is already there. You’re going to be a big brother,” Porco tousled Marcel’s hair a little. “But you’ll love it, and your little brother or sister will think you’re the coolest person in the world. Trust me, my big brother was the coolest.” 

“I don’t want a brother or sister! Just take it back where you got it from.” Pieck glanced at Porco, an awkward expression on his face. 

“Marcel. When a mommy and a daddy love each other they have sex, and when they do that sometimes they make a baby. The baby grows inside the mommy until the baby is born.” 

“So you two did sex and now there’s a baby? Why would you do that when you have me?” Oh lord, they were prepared for biology questions. Pieck’s years in medical school had prepared her for that easily. Beyond that was different. 

“It’s just something adults do, Marcel. We do it. Bertl and Reiner do it. Grandma and grandpa. Adults who are in love just do it. Some people call it love making because it’s part of being in love.” Porco ran a hand along his face. How did his brother react when his parents told him that he was going to be a big brother? …Well, he probably didn’t react much. Big Marcel would’ve only been a little over a year old when his parents got pregnant a second time. 

“But if you have a baby I have to share you! Why did you do that?” Marcel got frustrated, knocking over his squirtle. “I hate that baby! I’m not gonna play with it ever _ever!_ ” He stomped off to his bedroom, Pieck shaking her head and looking at the floor. 

  


“I didn’t think he’d not want a sibling so bad.” Porco said to Bertholdt, kicking his legs back and forth. They weren’t at the very top of the ferris wheel. Reiner had Gabi with him at the top, and Pieck had Marcel in the one above them. 

“You never planned on having another baby, did you?” Porco shook his head and leaned back into the seat. 

“No. Now we have an IUD baby to match our shot baby. Should’ve gotten fixed when Marcel was born. I know I’ll love the little rugrat but I’m just frustrated.” Bertholdt nodded slowly, watching people move back and forth on the carnival grounds below. “Do you guys have any of the stuff we gave you when you got Gabi?” 

“Yeah, Reiner and I put it in storage. We had talked about adopting a little brother or sister for Gabi so we saved it all, but we’re pretty sure we’re just going to raise her instead. Reiner’s really wanting to work more as soon as Gabi starts school.” 

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like as much back as I can get.” Bertholdt nodded, looking up and thinking of Reiner and Gabi. She was probably going on some meandering conversation about The Wiggles again. God help Reiner. Or maybe Gabi was laughing and kissing Reiner’s cheeks and snuggling him. God help him for missing it. 

“Yeah. It’s all just collecting dust anyways.” Bertholdt glanced over at Porco. “Do you and Pieck want a boy or a girl? You’ve had a couple of months to think about it.” 

“Three months. I’d like another boy, but Pieck has her heart set on a girl.” Porco laughed and looked up at the sky. “I want a boy so Marcel can have what my brother had. Maybe he’d still get that with a sister too, though. If anything I just want Marcel to grow up to be like my brother was.” 

“He’ll come around. Marcel’s a smart boy with a big heart.” 

Porco chuckled a little. “You’re right about that. Big brain and bigger heart.” 

  


“Hey, buddy. Wanna go for a ride in my truck?” Porco scooped up his son, Marcel crossing his arms and pouting a little. He looked away from his father, but glanced back over at him. Then he looked away, and glanced back again. 

“…Yeah.” Porco gave Marcel a knowing look, carrying him out to his truck and putting him inside. Marcel buckled himself in while Porco hopped in, turning it on. “Where are we going?” 

“We need to go to the store to buy some stuff for your little sister,” Marcel started to frown again, Porco reaching over and lightly punching his son’s arm. “I thought if you helped me you’d earn yourself a new game, though.” 

“…Like the new Mario game?” Porco laughed internally. There it was. Slowly but surely they were getting Marcel to soften up. 

“Yeah. Help me out and maybe I can get you the new Mario game.” Porco turned the radio down a little so he could talk to Marcel more. “Have you thought about any names for your little sister?” 

“No.” Marcel said after a second. 

“So there aren’t any names you think are pretty?” Marcel watched the scenery pass by, not really familiar with where they were. 

“Uh…” That one doggy character in his game had a nice name. He liked her, he liked talking to her. She was so nice and helpful. If she were real he’d want to hold her hand. Or… paw? “Isabelle?” 

Porco nodded his head at that. Isabelle. That was a pretty name. He liked it more than some of the names that he and Pieck had been kicking around. Bertholdt and Reiner had been useless with suggestions, and he didn’t really want to ask his parents for help naming baby. They could be overbearing enough as it was. 

He pulled his truck into the parking lot, letting Marcel out and holding his hand while they walked to the store. Marcel couldn’t help but walk closely by his father’s leg, noticing lots of people looking at him. There were lots of ladies here whose tummies were bigger than his mommy’s. It was weird. His mommy’s tummy was weird. 

“Okay, pal. I know what we need but you can help me decide which ones to pick, okay?” Marcel looked around at all the baby stuff in the store. It reminded him a little bit of the way Gabi’s room used to look when his mommy and daddy took him to Bert and Reiner’s house. “Which mobile do you think your sister would like?” 

Marcel looked at the mobiles. The one with little elephants was cute. The one with stars was shiny and cool. The birds were cute. He was having a sister, though. What do girls like? Well… what did Gabi like? “What about the dinosaurs?” 

Porco shook his head at that. “No, no dinosaurs,” He tussled Marcel’s hair a little. “Dinosaurs were _your_ special thing. Let’s pick something different.” 

“So no dinosaurs?” Porco shook his head again. 

“No. Not because I don’t think they’re a good idea. You had a good idea. But dinosaurs remind me of you.” 

Marcel smiled a little at that. His daddy still thought about him. “How about unicorns?” 

“There we go, that’s better. Do you think your sister will like unicorns?” Marcel thought about the idea of dinosaurs and unicorns. Maybe dragons, that made more sense than dinosaurs if they were together. Dragons were _basically_ dragons with wings. Maybe his sister would play dragons and unicorns with him. 

“Yeah.” 

  


“Do you still love me, mommy?” Pieck turned from her book to look at Marcel, who was fidgeting a little and looking at the ground. She frowned a little at the question, putting her book on the end table and patting the couch next to her. Marcel climbed up and sat next to her. He gave a concerned look at her belly and looked back at the floor. 

“Of course I still love you, Marcel.” Pieck leaned over and kissed the top of her son’s head, her movement restricted by her stomach. She had forgotten how inconvenient it was being pregnant and now she was ready to have it done and over with. Just another month. “You’re my baby.” 

“Will you love me less when Isabelle is born?” Pieck ran her fingers through Marcel’s hair. It was thick like Porco’s hair. Marcel leaned against her side and fidgeted a little. 

“But then Isabelle will be your baby.” Pieck shook her head and rubbed Marcel’s shoulder. Marcel closed his eyes and rested his head on his mom’s belly. “And I won’t.” Pieck ran her fingers through his hair again. His mommy always made him feel relaxed. She just had that effect on people. Even when his daddy got really mad or upset his mommy made him relax. 

“I can have more than one baby. Just because you aren’t my youngest doesn’t mean you aren’t my baby.” Marcel opened his eyes and furrowed his brow when he felt his sister move a little. That was weird. His mommy’s tummy was weird. How’d she get in there? How was she getting out? “You’ll be my baby when you’re a grownup.” 

“Nuh-uh, ‘cause I’ll be grown up.” Pieck chuckled and shook her head, earning a tiny smile from her son. 

“No. Even when you’re old and I’m really old you’ll be my baby.” Marcel was quiet for a second and pulled away, looking at his mom seriously. 

“But I get all your love now. Isabelle is going to take it away.” Pieck shook her head again. 

“I have an unlimited amount of love. You know what that means?” Marcel shook his head. “It means it never runs out. So I can keep giving you my love and give some to Isabelle too. You’re always going to be my special little Marcel.” 

“Promise?” 

“I promise.” 

  


Marcel couldn’t help but fidget in the backseat of Bert’s car. His daddy called for Bert and Reiner to come get him since his sister was coming. Bert and Reiner took him to their house and watched movies with him while his daddy took his mommy to the hospital. 

But then Bert got a phone call and told him they were going to the hospital because his sister was there. Reiner stayed at home because Gabi was tired and cranky and they wanted to leave her but someone needed to stay with her. 

“Are you excited to meet your sister, Marcel?” He met Bert’s eyes in the rear-view mirror and nodded his head slowly. Bert talked a little bit with him about nothing in particular, trying to let Marcel guide the conversation. He was worried about his mommy because he heard having a baby can hurt. 

Marcel clung to Bertholdt at the hospital. He didn’t like hospitals. They felt weird and there were lots of sick people. It made him sad. Sometimes his mommy’s daddy had to stay at the hospital and it always made his mommy sad. Hospitals were sad. Bertholdt seemed to be in a good enough mood, at least. He let Bertholdt hold his hand while they walked. 

Bert bought him a bear from the gift shop at the hospital, so that was nice. 

“There’s my little buddy.” Porco said, coming to the door whenever Bertholdt brought Marcel in. Porco picked him up, Marcel clinging to his dad. “There’s someone here who wants to meet you.” 

Porco brought Marcel over to his mom. The baby was asleep, but she had a puff of strawberry blonde hair. Bertholdt walked over and felt the fluff with his pointer finger. 

“She’s my sister?” Porco nodded, Marcel reaching out to touch her. Isabelle opened her eyes but closed them back after yawning. “How long until I can play with her?” 

“It’ll be a little bit. She’s too little right now. But when she’s older you can play with her. Someday she’s going to think you’re the coolest person in the world.” 

“Cooler than you?” Porco couldn’t help but laugh at that. By the time Isabelle would think Marcel was the coolest person in the world, Marcel would think he was the lamest person in the world. Better enjoy his son thinking he was cool while he could. 

“Yeah. Cooler than me.” Porco ran his fingers along the top of Pieck’s head. “Cooler than your mama too. I’m sure.” 

“Hmm. I’m not outnumbered anymore, hehe…” Pieck was tired. Babies were tiring. Thank god Porco got fixed. She couldn’t handle that again. She wanted to sleep. Porco and Bertholdt could spend time with baby. Marcel could nap in here with her for a few minutes. “Come here, darling. Are you excited to be a brother?” 

Marcel pet his sister’s hair. Why was it so fluffy? Like a little cloud. He ran his hand along his own hair. It was so thick. Why was her hair like a cloud? 

“…Maybe a little.” 

  


“Whatcha doin?” Marcel looked up from his paper, seeing his sister leaning on the frame to his door. He didn’t even see her appear. She was out with Gabi earlier, the two of them went to the mall with Reiner. He’d seen that the bath and body works coupon attached to the fridge by a magnet had been removed. Surely there was a new lotion or two floating around the house somewhere. 

“I’m just painting these minis that mom bought me the other day.” Marcel turned back to the tiny plastic figure in his hand. A tiefling bard, Gabi’s character. “I told my friends I’d paint them for them.” 

Isabelle came into his room and sat on the end of his bed. “I don’t like painting minis, it’s too hard…” Marcel hummed in acknowledgement. He tried showing her before but she didn't have the same level of patience that he did. The base coat was on, he was going to have to shade it next. “How come you’re so good at everything?” 

Marcel turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. She was kicking her feet back and forth; she had taken an unpainted miniature from the box of unpainted minis. Oh, it was the human wizard. He was painting that for Udo to use as his aasimar. “Cause I’m good like that.” 

…Shit. He didn’t have the right color paint for Gabi’s tiefling’s skin. Why was she playing a lilac-skinned tiefling? He had _so many_ shades of red. 

“Can you paint me a mini?” Isabelle asked, putting the tiny wizard back. 

“What kind of character would you play?” Marcel asked, standing up and grabbing his car keys. He hadn’t had his license long but surely his dad would let him take the car out to the hobby shop really quick. 

“Hmm… I wanna be someone magical!” Isabelle followed him, the two of them coming into the kitchen. 

“Hey, dad, can I take the car to the hobby shop? I need to buy some purple paint.” Porco looked around from the fridge, having pulled out all he’d need to make dinner for Pieck and the kiddos. She was out late tonight working because she was so close to having some research published. 

“Only if you take your sister with you.” Isabelle stood next to him, giving him a smile. Marcel looked down at her and blinked. 

“Okay.” Isabelle followed him like a lost puppy. She was chattering about how fun the last session he DMed was. It was nice having someone who wasn't a player in his campaign talking about the story, truthfully. 

“Can I be someone magic?” Isabelle asked, buckling herself into the car. 

“Yeah, sure. What kind of magic? Healing?” 

“No! I wanna hurt people!” Pieck and Porco might have raised a brow at the enthusiasm that she said that, especially when she chirped happily about torching people alive. But Marcel just laughed. “Sounds like you’d want a wizard. Or a sorcerer. Maybe a warlock.” Isabelle wanting to be a spellcaster wasn't surprising. It _was_ a little surprising how much she had soaked up just watching him. 

“I want to be a dragonborn! He’ll be named Astraeus.” 

“Like the Greek titan? Dusk and stars?” Isabelle nodded at her brother. He chuckled at that. She was really smart for her age, and she had taken a liking to mythology lately. “You wanna play as a boy?” 

“Why not? Didn’t Gabi play as a boy in your last campaign?” Marcel shrugged and nodded. Gabi was a dwarf cleric last time. War domain. Maybe she and Isabelle could bond over their mutual desire to destroy. 

“She did. You’re right. Astraeus the dragonborn wizard?” Marcel grinned at the mental image of Isabelle playing with a character like that. She was tiny, like their mom. She’d probably say her dragonborn was taller than Bert. “Maybe you can play as him one day.” 

“Can I play with you?” Marcel glanced over at his sister, who was giving him a look that was almost… longing. “I like watching you play with Gabi and Falco and Udo and Zofia. You’re a fun DM. I want to play with you. Pleaaasssseee?” 

Marcel parked the car and walked into the hobby shop with Isabelle. “Gabi and Zofia are busy next weekend and can’t play. Let me see if Falco and Udo are free. I might be able to see if I can arrange a oneshot you can play in.” 

“Really?” Isabelle asked, wandering away from him while Marcel looked at the paint. “You mean it?” 

“Yeah.” Marcel grabbed a couple of the paints he didn’t have but might need. “Why do you want to play with me so much? Why don’t you play with some of your friends?” 

“But you’re so much better at it! You make it so cool.” Marcel smiled at the compliment. 

“Thanks. Hey, go take these up front for me, I need to find something really quick.” 

“Huh? Fine. I’m going to go look at the Sailor Moon figures.” Isabelle walked to the front of the store. Marcel shook his head at her. Why didn’t she see that Dragon Ball was the superior series? He scanned the shelves and found what he was looking for, grabbing it and hiding it. Dragonborn wizard. 

She’s love a tiny little Astraeus. He’d even paint it for her before he did Udo’s aasimar. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the requester: I hope this is along the lines of what you wanted. I feel like it came across a little disjointed. Since Isabelle only exists in this chapter I wanted to put a little something with her older. I had a hard time writing Pieck here. Oh well.


	26. Eyebrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 12, Reiner is 35, Bert is 34

Gabi frowned at the mirror. Well, she was actually frowning at her reflection. More specifically, her face. And more specifically than that, her eyebrows. 

Why was she so worried about her eyebrows? She had never thought about them before. But she couldn’t help but stare at them now. Twelve years and she’d never once thought about them. Not until that idiot in class started going on about how big they were. 

…Were they, though? 

She hadn’t ever really paid attention to anyone else’s eyebrows either. It never seemed important. 

“Are you okay in there, Gabi?” Bert knocked on the bathroom door. “You’ve been in there for a while.” 

Bert could use his bathroom in his bedroom, why was he bothering her? Gabi rolled her eyes and frowned at her reflection. …Should she wax her eyebrows? Or tweeze them? Maybe Bert and Reiner had tweezers in their bathroom? They always seemed to have everything lying around the house somewhere. “I’m fine, Bert.” 

“Okay. Well, dinner is ready whenever you’re done. Reiner made some risotto for dinner tonight, it smells pretty good.” Bert’s feet thudded on the ground as he walked away. Gabi looked at her reflection from a couple of different angles. They were thick no matter what way she looked at them… 

She left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Bert and Reiner were standing next to one another in the kitchen, Reiner putting the food onto the plates while Bertholdt poured himself and Reiner some tea, and some juice for her. They set the table, Gabi coming in and taking the same seat she always did. 

“This is really good, Reiner. Since when did you know how to make risotto?” Bert asked, Reiner laughing at the question. 

“Since I stole mom’s magazine from her house. There were a couple of recipes in there that I thought looked really good.” Gabi looked at Reiner when he started to talk. Reiner… he had nice eyebrows. Thin and defined. She never noticed his eyebrows before but they really were nice. 

“Hmm. What else was in the magazine that looked good?” Bert asked Reiner, her turning to look at Bert. He had thin eyebrows too. His didn’t seem to have as much definition as Reiner’s, but they were still nice. “That sounds like it’d be really good, Reiner.” 

Gabi zoned out. Neither Bert nor Reiner were her father. Actually, Bert was completely unrelated to her. Reiner was her cousin and all but she didn’t look anything like him. He was tall and blonde with thin eyebrows and a defined nose. She was short and had black hair and massive eyebrows, with a pretty average nose. 

Reiner glanced up from his food after a minute to find Gabi staring directly at him. He glanced over to Bert, who looked back at him. His eyes returned to Gabi. She was still staring at him. “Something wrong, Gabi?” 

Gabi blinked. “Huh?” 

“You’re staring at me, is something on my face?” Reiner took a napkin and started wiping at his face self-consciously. He turned to Bert. “Did I get it?” 

“I think so? I don’t see anything.” Reiner nodded briefly and took a bite of food. “Handsome as always.” 

“Hush.” Reiner blushed a little at Bertholdt’s flirting. He took a sip of his tea and looked at Gabi again. “Are you alright?” 

“I was just thinking is all.” Reiner hummed. 

“What about?” Bert asked her, looking at her and smiling. 

“Where do you get your eyebrows done?” Gabi asked, Reiner raising a brow in confusion at the question. He took a hand to his face and felt his eyebrows. …They were the same as usual, right? They didn’t feel any different. He didn’t really think about them very much. 

“Oh, uh… I don’t have them done. They just look like that? I think they’ve pretty much always looked the same?” Reiner looked confused, turning to look at Bert again. “Is that right?” 

“Yeah, they’ve always looked like that. Even when we were kids.” Bertholdt started to feel at his own eyebrows, Reiner stifling a chuckle. 

“Hey, remember our old history teacher? Mr. Smith? He had such big eyebrows.” Gabi felt her stomach start to turn a little. Did Bert and Reiner make fun of people with big eyebrows too? Did they make fun of how she looked? “He was so hot, though…” 

“I know. Mr. Smith was so handsome. Nice eyebrows, pretty blue eyes, perfect blonde hair…” Reiner chuckled at Bertholdt recounting their Paradisan history teacher’s appearance. He wasn’t jealous at all. If he were single and little older, and maybe if Mr. Smith wasn’t supposedly married to the janitor… hehe. Maybe if Mr. Smith were willing and single, he and Bert could both… hehe. 

Gabi’s eye twitched a little at her dads being so thirsty. What the hell? 

“You know who else has nice eyebrows and perfect blonde hair? You.” Bert teased Reiner, Reiner blushing at the compliment. “No blue eyes but your pretty amber eyes are even better.” 

“Oh, stop it. You’re embarrassing Gabi.” Bert laughed and looked at her. She smiled awkwardly at him. 

“Sorry, Gabi.” Bert and Reiner went back to eating, Bert looking at her again. “What’s got you thinking about eyebrows?” 

“Oh, uh… I was just looking at mine in the mirror earlier.” Bertholdt and Reiner’s gaze both went to Gabi’s eyebrows, her noticing their eyes moving to her forehead. God, she knew they’d look, she needed to wax them or something… 

“They don’t look any different than usual.” Reiner observed, going back to his food. “You’re just as pretty as always, sweetheart.” A warm smile, from him and from Bert. 

Gabi frowned. Of course he would say that. They’d think she was pretty covered in mud. They didn’t really count. 

  


She could get in trouble, she knew. But Bert and Reiner said they’d be right back from the store and she couldn’t resist sneaking into their bathroom to go looking for their tweezers. Surely they had a pair? 

She opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror in their bathroom. Well, it was mostly medicine. No surprise there. Band-aids, some painkillers, a couple of tubes of ointments, their thermometer, a couple of prescription pill bottles for Reiner, some aloe vera… nothing in the tweezing department in there. 

There was a tube of toothpaste and their toothbrushes… two combs, one with a few blonde hairs in it and the other with some black hairs… cotton swabs. Beard products? Did Reiner really put that much effort into his beard? Did he and Bert share beard products? Bert’s chin hair probably didn’t take as much time to maintain. 

…Hey! They had a ton of nice, expensive skin care products in here! Why weren’t they sharing with her? 

“Aha!” Gabi pulled out the pair of tweezers she found in one of their drawers, put in with their nail clippers and pumice stones. She closed the drawer and turned the light in their bathroom off, making sure to close their bedroom door behind her. 

She made her way to the bathroom she used. Technically it was like… the family bathroom? It was pretty much hers, they didn’t even have guests over very much. 

Gabi found herself feeling nervous all of a sudden. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. God. Her eyebrows were so bushy and big and ugly and she just wanted to look normal. With that in mind, she took the tweezers and grabbed a couple of hairs, biting her lip and pulling them out. She inhaled sharply at the pain. 

What was it the lady said in that one show? Pain is beauty? She needed to suck it up… 

She grabbed a couple of hairs in her other brow, pulling them out. Oh, wait… she didn’t do it evenly. Maybe if she took a couple more hairs out on this side… but now the other one looks weird. And it hurt. Gabi found herself tearing up a little, partially out of frustration and partially out of pain. 

The front door opened, Bert and Reiner back from their quick trip to the grocery store. A knock on the bathroom door drew Gabi’s attention. “Hey, sweetheart, we know you like the rose-scented shampoo, but they were out so we just got the cherry blossom instead, hope that’s fine.” 

“That’s fine.” 

“Are you decent? Can I come in?” Bert asked, Gabi reaching over and opening the door. She didn’t even think that Bert would know she snuck into his bathroom and stole the tweezers until it was too late. 

“We got that lotion you like, too, Reiner said he noticed you were almost out, and…” Bertholdt stopped when he actually took a good look at his daughter’s face. Gabi smiled sheepishly at him, his tweezers in her hand. She went into his bathroom, which was a little frustrating because she knew she wasn’t supposed to. 

But more importantly, she just ripped a lot of her eyebrows out, and she hadn’t done a good job of it at all. Uneven, overplucked… they’d need to get those fixed professionally. He must have made a face of some sort, because Gabi immediately got flustered and started to shrink away. 

“I just wanted to be pretty, please don’t get mad at me.” Gabi said nervously, fidgeting a little and handing the tweezers to Bert. He took the tweezers and put them in his pocket. Her skin was red and a little swollen where she was being too rough. 

“Gabi, why did you…” Bert trailed off, sitting down on the closed toilet seat and reaching his hands out to her face. She closed her eyes, her brows sore and tender. “You tried to pluck your brows?” 

“I wanted to be pretty…” He sighed and shook his head. Gabi was already the prettiest girl in the world to him… but she was getting to that age where she was becoming self-conscious. It broke his heart knowing that she would be as beautiful as she was and she would think she was ugly. And he knew no matter what he told her, she’d either not believe it or write it off because he was her dad. “It hurts, Bert…” 

“Gabi. We’re going to need to go get this fixed, okay? It's late now. We can take you in the morning.” Gabi’s stomach dropped. Did she do that bad? She looked in the mirror again, now that she hadn’t been focusing on herself. 

…They really did look bad. She looked at Bert again. His were nice. He rubbed her shoulder, giving her a half-smile. ...At least Bert and Reiner thought she was pretty. 

  


Her forehead hurt. But the person at the salon was really nice and was really quick about getting her taken care of. She got her eyebrows fixed and the lady assured her that when the overplucked brows grew back they could take care of her again. 

Reiner had taken her the next morning before school. Bert had to go to work but Reiner was able to move some things around for her. He spent quite a bit to get her the products that the lady recommended, her explaining to Gabi how to use them. She gave an estimate of how long it’d take for her eyebrows to grow back so they could make another appointment. 

“Gabi. You aren’t in trouble. But if you want to do something like that you should make sure you know what you’re doing first. You should’ve talked to me or Bert before you plucked out your eyebrows.” Reiner said, glancing over at her when they got to the red light. 

“But you and Bert have perfect eyebrows and mine are so ugly. How come I didn’t get the Braun eyebrows?” Reiner hummed at the last part of what she had to say. 

“You got your eyebrows from your father, through and through. Emilia’s brows looked like mom’s.” Reiner said very matter-of-factly, Gabi now feeling like she could curse her genetics without insulting Reiner. 

“Why couldn’t I have gotten his height instead?” Reiner laughed at that; Uncle Oskar was pretty tall, but Gabi would be lucky if she was any more than 160cm in the end. Her mom was short. But his own mother was somewhat tall. Maybe Gabi would pull through if she took after him and his mom in some way. 

“You know that Bert and I will think you’re beautiful no matter what. And I mean that. I think your eyebrows are fine the way they are. But if you want to take care of yourself and groom just make sure you do it the right way. We all make mistakes. You should’ve seen my beard when I first started growing it.” 

“Was it bad?” Reiner laughed at Gabi’s question. 

“Well, you were a baby and I wasn’t taking care of my appearance much. It was uneven and I didn’t keep it moisturized so it was too prickly and everything. I evened it out one night instead of shaving it all off because Bert liked me with a beard.” 

“So you kept your beard because Bert liked it?” Reiner without a beard seemed like a foreign concept all together. She’d seen the pictures of him in those old scrapbooks of him without it… but still. 

“Well, yeah, at first. But I started taking care of it and now I like it a lot. I keep it soft and I take care of it. The reason I’m saying this is because it’s okay to take care of your appearance. If you need something just ask me or Bert instead of stealing my tweezers. Or my lotion, I saw it in your drawer.” 

Reiner pulled up to Gabi’s school, parking in the parking lot out front. East Liberio Elementary School, the same one he and Bertholdt went to. Whatever happened to all those talks about moving as far away as possible? 

“Hey. Before I take you inside to sign you in. Will you do something for me?” Gabi glanced at Reiner, raising her brows to get him to go on. “Don’t feel like you need to change yourself for anyone. If you want to do something just make sure _you_ want to do it. Okay?” 

Gabi nodded at Reiner, getting out of the car with him. 

Her forehead hurt a little. Maybe she’d do it again. Maybe she wouldn’t. She’d see if she wanted to when the time came. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked 12 because that was about the age I really started getting self-conscious.
> 
> I'm tired, working so much. But I have an extra day off from work next week so hopefully I'll get a little more done. Thanks for reading my fic! I love you all :')


	27. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 5/14/15, Reiner is 28/37/38, Bert is 27/36/37

Reiner sat in the line of cars waiting to pull up to pick up Gabi from school, bored and leaning his head against the window of the car. Could these parents be any slower picking up their kids? It was the last day of school before Valentine’s Day, so he and Bertholdt had sent her to school with twenty-five of those little Valentine’s cards. Gabi had chirped about wanting to give one to everyone in class; he and Bertholdt sat with her at the dining table writing the other kid’s names on them. She was so happy when she went to school that morning. 

He pulled up, noticing Gabi look at his car and walk slowly to the car. He frowned. Why was she looking at the ground while she walked like that? She opened the car door and got in, dropping her bookbag into the car floor and buckling herself in. 

“Hey Gabi, how was school today?” Reiner asked, reaching his hand over and putting it on her shoulder. Gabi looked at him, a sad expression on her face. Reiner looked away and drove out of the car line so he didn’t hold everyone else up, quickly parking the car. “Sweetie? Are you okay?” 

Gabi’s face fell and she started to cry, Reiner immediately leaning over the center console. Gabi undid her buckle and leaned over so Reiner could hold her against his chest, him running his fingers through her hair. “R-reiner…” 

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Reiner asked, closing his eyes while he held her against him. “Sshhh… sshhh… it’s okay, dear.” 

“N-nobody… nobody wanted me… to, to be their Valentiiiineee…” Gabi got out, Reiner shaking his head and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We put the little bags on our d-desk… but a-after we were done I only had twooo!” Gabi handed her bag to Reiner, him opening it and seeing two of the little valentine’s day cards inside. 

“Oh… oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. They don’t know how lucky they’d be to have you as a valentine. You’re the sweetest, prettiest, most special girl in the world. And if you don’t believe me, Bert thinks so too.” Reiner looked at the two cards inside her bag. One of them was from her little friend Kaya. She talked about her a lot. The other was a name he didn’t recognize. Bertholdt probably wrote the name on their card. 

“I thought everyone liked me!” Reiner wasn’t sure how to respond to that. So he just kept Gabi against his chest and continued to stroke her hair until she calmed down after a minute. Gabi kept sniffling, her eyes red. It broke Reiner’s heart to see her so upset. 

He opened his cellphone, sending Bertholdt a quick text message before putting his phone down. “Hey, sweetie. Do you want to go get some ice cream with Aunt Karina while me and Bert go do some grownup stuff?” 

Gabi looked at Reiner, tears dripping down her face while she nodded quietly. He took her to his mother’s house, letting Karina know what happened and leaving her with some extra money so she could get Gabi all the extra toppings she wanted. 

  


“Did you like spending time with Aunt Karina tonight, princess?” Reiner asked, Gabi sitting in the back seat of the car. She was still not quite her usual self but still felt better than she did before. Gabi nodded her head and closed her eyes in the backseat. She was tired. 

“Yeah… I got the strawberry ice cream with chocolate syrup…” Gabi yawned and kept looking out the window, Bertholdt reaching into the back seat and patting her knee. Gabi seemed to appreciate the gesture. They got home quickly, Karina living very close by. Reiner parked the car, the two of them getting out. Gabi got out of the back, Bertholdt quickly scooping her up and holding her princess-style. 

“Reiner and I have a surprise for you, sweetheart.” Bertholdt kissed the top of her head, Gabi blushing a little in response. Reiner went to unlock the front door since Bertholdt’s hands were full. Gabi clung to Bertholdt, her eyes tired. 

“You know we love you a whole lot, right?” Gabi nodded, Reiner opening the door to her room and Bertholdt taking her in. Her eyes lit up at the giant teddy bear that wasn’t on her bed this morning, a big red bowtie on its neck. There was a smaller pink bear next to it. She grabbed the smaller one and read the words on its belly. 

“You are my sunshine?” 

“You are our sunshine, Gabi.” Bertholdt said, picking her back up. “Will you be our valentine?” 

“Yeah…” Gabi nuzzled into Bert and closed her eyes. “Does that mean you’ll give me chocolate?” 

“We’ll give you some chocolate later, you’ll eat yourself sick.” Reiner said, leaning against Bertholdt’s shoulder. She’d eat it all in one sitting, he just knew it. 

“Nuh-uh.” Gabi denied the accusation and shook her head. “I promise I won’t.” 

“We’ll give you a little bit of chocolate now, but you can have more tomorrow.” Bertholdt put Gabi down. “Put on your pajamas and Reiner and I will get you some chocolate. We can watch a movie if you want. Or you can go to sleep, I know you’re tired.” 

“I wanna watch a movie…” Gabi changed into her pajamas and went to the living room with Bert and Reiner, but even though they put in Lady and the Tramp she just couldn’t keep her eyes open. Reiner let her sleep on his lap for a few minutes before they picked her up and tucked her in, tucking her in with her pink bear. 

  


It was a yearly thing that Gabi looked forward to. Every year Bert and Reiner got her a new big stuffed animal, a small mountain of toys forming in the corner of her room over the years. There were a couple of bears, a dragon, a shark, a gorilla, a t-rex, a butterfly. All of them either pink, red, or adorned with hearts in some way. The caterpillar, almost as big as Bert, stayed in her bed while she slept with it. Its shape was most huggable, and it was long enough she could wrap her arms and legs around it. 

Was she a little old for stuffed animals? …Nah. Reiner had a little doll Bert had given him on the shelf in their bedroom, and Bert kept that doll Reiner won for him at the carnival on his nightstand. And they were way old compared to her. 

Kaya walked alongside Gabi, both of them walking to her house after they left school. It was Valentine’s Day, but all Gabi had gotten was a single valentine from her friend Falco. He gave her something every year. Udo still got dates for Marleyan holidays mixed up sometimes, but he insisted he got all his friends little chocolate boxes. Marcel got lots of candy, as usual, and shared some with her. Nothing from that idiot counted as a valentine. 

But they were long past the days of everyone getting those dumb little cards anyways. She got one more than a lot of people did. 

“Got a valentine from Falco? I think he likes you, Gabi~” Gabi rolled her eyes and opened the door to her house. She dropped her bookbag on the floor by the door like she usually did. Bert would move it later, like he always did. And he’d tell her to quit putting it by the door, and she’d say sorry even though she knew damn well she was going to put it there the next day. 

“It isn’t like that, Kaya. Falco’s my best friend.” Gabi stretched out her arms, the two of them going to the kitchen and grabbing juice boxes before heading to her room. 

“Happy Valentine’s day, Gabi!” Reiner said cheerfully, a giant bear with a big heart in its paws on the floor. Bertholdt gave her a big grin, holding a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates for her. 

“Will you be our valentine?” Bertholdt asked, a grin on his face. He shook the big heart a little, the sound of the candy rattling around inside it. Gabi started to smile until she heard Kaya snicker quietly behind her. Gabi swallowed, her face burning. 

Actually… this was pretty lame, now that she thought about it. Getting stuffed animals from her parents? The only person who should be giving her a stuffed animal like this now should be someone she’s dating. Relying on her parents for Valentine’s Day gifts? Them asking like _that?_ She wasn’t sure she had ever felt so embarrassed by her parents before. 

“Why are you so embarrassing?” Gabi asked somewhat forcefully. Reiner and Bertholdt’s faces both fell, the two of them looking confused, then hurt. Gabi didn’t notice, instead seeing Kaya’s eyes darting between the giant bear on the floor and the mountain of giant stuffed animals in the corner of her room. “Stop treating me like a baby!” 

“Huh…?” Reiner’s expression turned sad, looking back and forth between Gabi and the giant teddy bear. Bertholdt looked hurt as well, his shoulders slumping a little. “But you used to love-” 

“God, Reiner, I’m fourteen, stop treating me like a kid!” Bertholdt and Reiner both recoiled a little, the two of them looking at one another before looking at the ground. Reiner idly kneaded the bear’s ear between his fingers. 

“…We’re sorry, Gabi. We didn’t mean to, uh… make you feel like a baby. We’ll leave you and your friend alone, okay?” Gabi noticed the deflated tone of Bertholdt’s voice, Reiner picking up the bear and the two of them walking out of her room with the gifts. She heard their bedroom door open and close. 

God, she was embarrassed. It didn’t matter if she had embarrassing dads whenever she was alone (or with Marcel, he didn’t count) but when her friends were around she didn’t need _anything_ embarrassing around. 

Was Kaya judging her? Kaya had a sly smile on her face. Oh, god… 

In their room, Reiner and Bertholdt pushed the giant bear into their closet and closed the door, both of them wiping at their faces. 

  


Once again, Falco got her a little box of chocolates and a card, her returning the favor to him with a little toy bear she had bought while she was out with Aunt Karina. Udo brought his valentines candy on the right date this year, and even Marcel got her a little box of chocolates. Zofia gave her a little goodie bag with chocolates inside. How lucky she was to have such kind friends. 

Kaya had said that she had bought little candies for her friends but that her sister ate them all. Boo. Apparently they were those really creamy caramels she liked too. Double boo. 

Gabi dropped her bookbag by the door in the same spot she always did. Bert would move it later, like he always did. And he’d tell her to quit putting it by the door. She would apologize, but tomorrow she was going to put it in the same spot. She stretched out her arms, making her way to her bedroom. She opened her door… 

…and there was nothing? …Where was her big teddy they got her every year? Gabi frowned, moving to her closet and opening it up. There wasn’t anything in there that wasn’t there this morning when she got dressed. Bert and Reiner were always waiting in her room with her new doll. Bert would take off work and Reiner was always home when she needed since he set his own work hours. 

Gabi trekked around the house a little bit, finding a note on the kitchen counter. 

_Gabi, had to run to the grocery store. There’s some leftover stew in the fridge if you want some. Please wash your dishes if you eat anything. Be home soon. –Reiner_

Where was Bert? Reiner was at the store, but Bert always asked for Valentine’s Day off. It was one of their little things they all did. Were they hurting for money and he couldn’t ask off? No, they couldn’t be, because Bert and Reiner had been so lax with things lately. Actually, they had been for a while... Reiner and Bert were much more loose with their money the past few months. Didn’t the house get paid off last year? They were fine. 

She scanned the house, checking the study. Nope. No sign of Bertholdt anywhere. 

Well, she could always check their bedroom. She knew she wasn’t really supposed to go in there without asking them but they weren’t around to ask so that sorta gave her a pass, right? 

Gabi opened the door to Bert and Reiner’s bedroom, finding it empty. The door to their bathroom was open, nobody in there either. The bed was nicely made up, but a little wrinkled on Reiner’s side. He must’ve taken a nap earlier. It was Thursday today, wasn't it? Reiner usually didn't work on Thursdays. He cleaned the house and took care of bills and business and stuff instead. 

Part of her knew she shouldn’t be in here… but if they got her anything they might be keeping it in here. 

She opened up Reiner’s nightstand. Reading glasses and a couple of books. A bottle of something? What's that for? Gabi frowned and closed the drawer, dissatisfied with the result. 

Maybe under the bed? 

Oh, a heart-shaped box! Gabi pulled the box out, shaking it in her hand. It didn’t rattle like there was chocolate inside. It was pretty big, truthfully. She grabbed the tag and looked at it. 

_To my big boy ;)_

“Eww!” Gabi recoiled and tossed the box back under Reiner’s side of the bed. Gross! What the _hell_ was wrong with him? Didn’t he know that he should put that somewhere she wouldn’t find it? 

She went to the closet and opened it, being greeted by the sight of their clothes and not much else. 

Did they not get her a doll and candy this year? But they always got her a plush doll and candy… 

Well, Reiner was at the store, presumably buying stuff. Maybe they were just late getting her the goodies. They had been busy lately, after all. 

Gabi retreated to her room, texting Falco and Marcel before deciding on a quick nap. School was exhausting and really, sleeping was one of her favorite things to do besides eating. She didn’t sleep long, though, noting the time was about an hour and a half later when she woke up. 

There were voices coming from Bert and Reiner’s room when she got up and walked by. Curious, she leaned up to the door. A laugh. If they were in a good mood then that was a good sign things were normal. 

“ _Oooh…_ I love it, Reiner.” Bert chuckled, followed by the familiar sound of Reiner laughing. “Cupid’s gonna stick me with his arrow tonight, hehehe…” 

“You know, Bertl, Gabi’s been asleep for a while, I was thinking we could…” 

Gabi pulled away from the door because there was absolutely no way she wanted to stick around for the end of _that_. She coughed loudly to make it known that she was awake. 

She turned on her heel and went to the kitchen, grabbing herself a little snack and turning the TV on. She should probably do her chemistry homework. But neither Bert nor Reiner were any good with chemistry so they couldn’t help her if she had trouble… maybe she should wait till in the morning so Udo could help. 

The door to her parent’s bedroom opened, Bert and Reiner coming out. Reiner had a look of concern when he spoke. “You were dead to the world when we tried to wake you up earlier. Do you need some medicine for that cough? Are you feeling okay?” Reiner started to reach over to feel her forehead, Gabi pulling away at that. Reiner shrugged. 

They tried to wake her up? Did they have a doll for her? She felt so childish wanting it so bad. She had seen a giant valentine octopus at the store and had dropped a line that she liked it… had they gotten the hint? 

“I haven’t been up long. I turned the TV on a couple of minutes ago.” Bertholdt nodded, him going to sit next to Gabi on the couch while Reiner went to the kitchen, ready to warm up some leftovers for dinner. 

“How was school today, sweetheart?” Bertholdt asked, his gaze averting from her for a moment before a small frown crossed his face. He got up and went to the door. “Stop putting your bookbag by the door, Gabi.” He picked it up and put it in her room. 

“Sorry. I’ll put it in my room next time.” She wouldn’t. 

They chattered idly for a minute. Maybe Bertholdt wanted to wait until Reiner was free to surprise her with her gifts. He was busy making dinner. The smell of the stew he made the night before wafted through the air, him eventually telling them it was ready. 

The three of them sat around the table, but neither of them seemed to give any indication that there was anything special going on. 

“…Hey.” Bert and Reiner looked up from their food, giving her a quizzical look. “Where… where’s my Valentine’s Day doll you always get me? And my chocolate?” 

Bert and Reiner exchanged confused looks. Reiner looked at her. “We didn’t get you anything. You wanted us to stop treating you like a baby, remember?” 

“Huh…? What?” 

“Your friend came over and you told us to stop being embarrassing. So we didn’t want to patronize you or anything this year. We didn’t get you a bear or chocolate.” Bertholdt said matter-of-factly. He looked down at his food and took another bite. "We respect the fact that you're growing up." 

Gabi thought back to the previous year. Oh… right. At the time she had thought Kaya was judging her and she had been so embarrassed by Bert and Reiner that she lashed out. Later Kaya had admitted that she thought it was cute and reminded her of her own dad. But then Gabi forgot about that whole situation. 

But Bert and Reiner didn’t forget. 

No giant doll and no chocolates and no Bert and Reiner asking her to be their valentine? Gabi couldn’t help but feel her lip tremble. 

“Are you okay? Did you want us to get you something? Last year you said-” Gabi turned away from Reiner’s voice. 

“I… I want my doll. I thought you’d get me one, I wanted the big octopus…” Bertholdt and Reiner were perplexed by her change in attitude. 

“But you said you wanted us to stop? Why would we get you anything when you said-” Gabi didn’t cut Bertholdt off, necessarily, but she stood up and pushed her chair back in, going back to her room wordlessly. She laid on her bed and pulled a pillow over her head, feeling herself start to cry. 

A knock at her door. It cracked open just a hair. Reiner. “Gabi? Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No.” 

“…Okay. We’re here if you need to talk about anything, sweetheart.” 

Gabi opened her phone and texted Falco. He always made her feel better. Zofia too. And Udo, and Marcel. They all chattered individually and in their shared group chat, Gabi turning when she heard her door start to open again and her seeing Bert start to peek inside. Had it been a while? 

“Gabi?” 

“Go away.” 

No response, but the door closed, and the feet shuffled away. She took her bookbag and worked on her homework for a little while. 

A couple of hours passed, then the door opened again after a knock. Bert and Reiner stood in the doorway. Reiner fidgeted with his hands for a second. “Gabi, we-” 

“Leave me alone.” Reiner and Bertholdt looked at one another, then closed the door. 

Gabi put in her headphones and played around on her phone until her eyes just couldn’t stay open anymore. 

  


Everything was same as usual. Gabi got up, Bert and Reiner in the kitchen drinking coffee together. She got her bookbag, and they took her to school. Same old same old. Good thing she had someone as smart as Udo around to help her with her homework. Marcel was really smart too but despite his intelligence he never seemed to actually do his work. Coasting on near-perfect exam marks seemed to suit him just fine. 

She walked home from school alongside Marcel, him eventually splitting off from her when they walked by his house. Porco was outside working on that old truck he was always taking such good care of. Reiner and Bert weren’t home. That wasn’t too unusual as she got older; they trusted her enough to leave her alone for a bit. If she was just getting home from school, they might be a couple of hours. Gabi grabbed the package addressed to Bert on the porch and put it on the table. 

She put her bookbag in the same spot by the door that she always did. Later Bert would move it and tell her to stop putting her bag there. She would say sorry, but tomorrow she was going to do it again. 

The giant octopus sat on her bed, Gabi gasping in excitement. There was a box of chocolates in each one of its tentacles, Gabi quickly tearing into one and eating a couple of pieces. 

She opened the card in one of the octopus’s tentacles. 

_To our favorite Valentine. –Bert and Reiner_

Was it immature to have an octopus with a card and seven boxes of chocolate? 

…Nah. She grabbed the octopus’s head, hugging it to her chest and getting under her covers because she was tired and wanted a nap. 


	28. What the Eyes See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write something from the point of view of someone outside the relationship/friend circle. 
> 
> Gabi is about nine months at the start, Reiner is 24, the third party is 19.

“The longer your work here, you’ll notice regulars coming in. A lot of people are settled into a routine of some sort, and oftentimes that routine means stopping here. Hell, a lot of them order the exact same thing every time they come.” Julia nodded, getting comfortable behind the bar while her new coworker explained things to her. 

Not sure why. She’d worked coffee places before, just not this one. She knew how it worked. But now that she was attending Marley University she had to relocate. This particular coffee shop was located just two blocks from the massive library in downtown Liberio. There was that, a nice park nearby… but this particular shop never seemed particularly busy in spite of that. 

Apparently there was another coffee shop closer to the library on the other side that was also closer to the district with all those corporate buildings. That place stayed swamped. 

“Oh, look. There’s one of our regulars now.” Julia’s head lifted up at that. A blonde man came in, pretty young looking. He had a stroller with him, pushing it along. He gave a nod to her manager. 

Smart man, Julia thought when she noted the time. The rush of the morning was over, had been for an hour. And the lunch rush wouldn’t come for another hour or so. He was avoiding a rush, smart because his stroller did take up a bit of space. 

“Hello, Reiner. Same as usual?” Reiner smiled and hummed, nodding his head. Her manager turned to Julia. “That’ll just be a light roast. Black. Nothing else.” 

“Easy enough.” Julia made the coffee, writing his name on the cup and handing it to him. Reiner gave her a nod and a smile when she gave him the coffee, him passing her the money. He tossed the change in the tip jar, taking his coffee and stroller to the abandoned corner of the shop. 

“Reiner’s easy enough to please. He’s very nice once you get to know him.” Julia watched him as he pulled up one of the high seats, putting it next to his table and taking the baby out of the stroller. “He’s been coming here for a while, but the past few months he comes almost every day at the same time. Unless the weather is bad.” 

This Reiner fellow was getting comfortable, leaning over and kissing the top of the baby’s head before reaching into his stroller and handing the baby a bottle. “How long’s he been a regular?” 

“It was off-and-on for a while. I remember him coming in sometimes when he was in college but it wasn’t nearly as often. Then he dropped off the face of the earth for a while. When he started coming back again he had that stroller and a baby.” The manager smiled at the sound of the baby cooing. “He’ll chat, but good luck getting him to talk about his personal life. I didn’t even know he had a baby on the way.” 

“He’s cute.” Julia observed. Her manager laughed at her. 

“Yeah. Very handsome.” Her manager elbowed her side just a little. “I don’t see a wedding ring…” 

“Look how young his baby is. Unless he broke up with his girlfriend while she was pregnant he’s probably still with her.” Julia watched Reiner for another moment. He was sipping on his coffee and fussing over his baby. Oh, another customer. She glanced away and went back to work. 

  


It was like clockwork, just like her manager had said. Reiner came in at the exact same time every day, you could almost set your watch to him. And every day he would order a black coffee and nothing else. He’d pull up the high chair, put his baby in it, and they’d stay for a little bit until he packed up the baby and left with her. 

Curiously, sometimes he would order a vanilla and cream iced coffee with milk before he left. He never seemed to drink it on the way out. It was such a far cry from what he typically ordered. 

“This is so different from what you always get. Why don’t you drink this one while you’re here?” Julia asked Reiner one day, handing the coffee to him. He put the coffee in the cup holder on the stroller. 

“Oh, it isn’t for me. I don’t like drinking coffee like that.” Reiner said, taking the change from her. He automatically reached over and put the change in the tip jar. 

“Taking it out for your girlfriend?” Reiner gave her a quizzical look for a moment as though he were processing what she said, then let out a laugh. 

“I don’t have a girlfriend, hehe…” Reiner gave her a nod and started to turn away. “Have a nice day, Julia. I’ll see you tomorrow if the weather is nice.” 

Huh. No girlfriend. He must’ve broken up with his baby’s mother. 

It was absolutely dead the next day, Julia finding herself bored. But, sure as the sun would rise in the morning, Reiner showed up at the same time he always did. Julia made him his coffee, handing it to him. Today he had his baby against his chest, held up with one of those baby wrap things. She was sound asleep. A little angel, she was so cute. 

Not another customer in sight. Reiner went and sat down in his usual spot, but he put his coffee down and just held his daughter, resting a hand on her head. He leaned down to kiss her. Julia blinked. She wasn’t busy. Instead she walked over next to him, Reiner glancing up at her. “Mind if I sit here?” 

“No, go ahead.” Julia sat down, Reiner smiling at her. “You aren’t too busy today, I see.” 

“No, we’re usually dead in the middle of the week. You never come in when it’s busy, though.” Reiner chuckled at that, the baby opening her eyes. Reiner grabbed a nearby high chair, pulling it over. He took his baby out from the wrap and put her in, getting her a bottle from her stroller. 

“I don’t want her out when it’s too loud, she’ll get stressed out. But I like taking her out of the house. She likes it.” The baby started staring at her. “Who’s that, Gabi?” 

“Gabi? That’s a cute name. How’d you pick it?” Julia asked curiously. She looked over at Reiner again. 

He was so handsome. She’d noticed before, but even more now that she was actually talking to him. Tall, blonde, nice eyebrows, a well-groomed beard... 

“Oh, her mother named her.” Reiner took the bottle away after Gabi finished, putting it down in the stroller. “My whole family says I’m bad at naming things anyways. Much less a child.” 

“Does she look like her mom?” Gabi didn’t really look like Reiner at all. Fine black hair, and while he had a prominent and dented nose his daughter’s was a cute little button. He smiled at his daughter and poked her cheek. 

“Yeah… she does. She looks just like her mama.” Reiner was quiet for a moment while he looked at Gabi. “I miss her.” 

“Did she pass?” Reiner nodded, running a thumb along Gabi’s cheek. Gabi reached out and grabbed Reiner’s thumb, taking it into her mouth and suckling. Reiner smiled a warm smile, Gabi cooing at him. 

“I’m sorry. It must be hard.” 

“I miss her. But I’m still here to watch over Gabi. I’d do anything for this little troublemaker.” Julia was surprised Reiner was opening up at all about his personal life, but then again, she’d seen him every day she’d worked for at least a month. 

“Did you go to Marley University?” Julia asked, changing the subject. Reiner glanced down at the Marley Warriors t-shirt he was wearing, giving her a smile. “That’s where I’m going right now.” 

“Yeah, I did. I graduated, hmm… about two years ago.” That made sense. He didn’t look old at all. “I wanted to be a teacher. That’s what I went to school for.” 

“Really? That’s what I’m going to school for now!” Julia chirped. “Did you have Dr. Jarnach?” 

A laugh. “That guy still terrorizing the new crops of students?” Julia nodded at Reiner’s question. “He likes to weed out people that think they shouldn’t be teachers. Take him again when you’re in your third year. He’s much nicer then.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Why aren’t you teaching now?” A slight pause, Julia feeling her cheeks heat up. “Not… not that I’m saying you aren’t working! It’s just, school would be in session right now, and…” 

“It’s fine. I spend all my time taking care of Gabi and my mom. I don’t have time to work. Coming out here with Gabi is the only real leisure time I have.” Reiner checked his watch, scooping up Gabi and putting her in the stroller. “Speaking of which, I need to leave about now. I have somewhere to be.” 

It was Friday, so Reiner wouldn’t be back for a couple of days. “See you Monday?” 

Reiner gave her a smile on his way out. “Same as always.” 

  


Love was a strong word. But over time… Julia thought it was right. Eventually she found herself comfortable enough to chat with Reiner every day, and those daily chats became something she cherished very much. Reiner still didn’t talk much at all about his personal life, but he was very open about most other things. 

And seeing Gabi every day meant she got to watch the little baby grow up. It had been about four months now since she started working at the coffee shop, and in baby time four months was a long time. How old was Reiner’s daughter now? A little over a year, if she remembered right. 

“What made you want to be a teacher?” Julia asked one day while Reiner bounced Gabi up and down on his knee. 

“I love kids. It almost doesn’t make sense giving that as an explanation because I’m trained to teach high schoolers.” Reiner leaned down and pecked Gabi’s cheek, getting an adorable coo in response. 

“Oh, I was thinking about going and specializing in teaching younger children. I want to teach kindergarten.” Julia thought about it. High schoolers? No thank you. 

“I’ve heard great things about Dr. Tybur. But I never had her.” Julia hummed. 

“If you love kids, do you want more? Besides just Gabi?” Reiner looked like he was in thought for a moment before he answered. 

“I don’t know. As much as I love kids I wasn’t sure I’d ever have one. I hadn’t exactly planned on Gabi. Maybe one day she’ll have a little brother or sister. Maybe not. I don’t know.” Reiner put Gabi back in her high chair. “She’s enough of a handful as it is anyways.” 

Having a crush on a regular isn’t weird at all. Julia was sure of it. People had crushes on regulars all the time in different lines of work. Hell, her sister was dating someone she met waiting tables. But this went beyond a crush. 

One time Reiner walked in with his daughter and Julia swallowed. He was such a fantastic father. She couldn’t help but imagine how good a father he’d be to their kids. Reiner seemed like the type who would snuggle his wife’s belly and coo at his unborn children and go starry-eyed when the baby kicked. 

They’d have another. Maybe two if she could talk him into it. She could almost feel Reiner’s arms around her at night rubbing circles on her belly. Gabi would love her little half-siblings, but she’d probably just call them brother or sister. 

Of course having children implied requisite baby-making activities, and one day she found herself hot and bothered making a goddamned latte. Hopefully she had a good poker face or that poor customer was probably at least a little traumatized. 

…She was planning a family with this regular coffee shop customer when she didn’t even know his last name. What the hell? Well, just about everyone fantasized about things like that with someone. She couldn’t help but feel a little stalker-ish, but it wasn’t like she was going around acting on any of these fantasies. 

“I think I’m in love with someone.” She admitted to Reiner one day at work. Reiner had Gabi in the wrap against his chest again, her snoozing peacefully while Reiner held her tenderly. Reiner gave Julia a smile. 

“Really now? I’m sure anyone would be lucky to have you. Have you told them yet?” Julia felt her stomach fluttering. She couldn’t confess her feelings here. Not now. She wasn’t ready. And Reiner was a little preoccupied with Gabi today. He always was just a little less attentive when Gabi slept against his chest. 

“No. I’m scared he isn’t going to feel the same way for me that I do for him.” Reiner reached over and gave her a pat on her shoulder, Julia enjoying the brief touch. 

“It’s true, he might not… but he might. You won’t know until you put yourself out there and confess to him. If he feels the same, it could be the start of something beautiful.” Reiner sighed contentedly. “I remember the first time I felt love fluttering around in my chest. I feel like a hypocrite telling you to put yourself out there. I was the one who was confessed to.” 

Julia bit her lip, extinguishing the feeling of jealousy inside her. Of course Reiner would’ve loved the mother of his child. No sense being jealous of a dead woman. 

Reiner glanced at his watch, noting the time. “Oh, I stayed a little late. I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, if the weather’s nice. If not then, Friday. I heard it might rain tomorrow.” 

“See you, Reiner.” Julia said, watching him walk out the door. “…I love you.” Her words were mumbled so quietly nobody would’ve heard even if there were another person around to hear it. 

A rainy Thursday meant no Reiner. He had remarked before that he didn’t like taking Gabi and her stuff out whenever it was raining. He would stay home with her and play with her toys. What a lucky child to have such a devoted father. 

Friday came soon enough. A customer Julia had never seen before came in, looking around like he was looking for someone. A look of vague disappointment crossed his features before he stopped looking around. He smiled when he came to the bar. 

“What can I get for you today, sir?” The man looked at the menu and gave her a polite smile. He looked young, but the sweater he wore looked like something she could see on a middle-aged man. He made it work, though. 

“Can I have a large vanilla and cream iced coffee?” He glanced around for a second. “Do you have milk cartons so I can put some milk in?” Julia hummed and handed him a milk carton. “Can I get a small black coffee too?” 

That was the same thing Reiner got, except in reverse. Reiner always got the black first. Weird. Dismissing the thought, she made the coffee and handed it to the man, him paying and dropping some change in the tip jar. He went to sit in the corner of the store, Julia a little irked that he took Reiner’s spot. 

The man sat there sipping on his iced coffee and playing on his phone for a few minutes. He seemed to keep to himself, not paying any mind to her or the random customers that trickled in and out. A glance would be cast at the door every time the bell chimed but he would quickly return to whatever it was he was up to. 

She was going to do it. Her weekend was coming up, and she needed to confess her feelings to Reiner before they sat with her for too long. 

Like clockwork, Reiner came in with the stroller and Gabi in her sling. Reiner started to approach the bar, until a voice called out from the corner of the shop. 

“Reiner!” The man started waving at Reiner, a wide smile crossing Reiner’s face. Julia watched in surprise as Reiner gravitated away from the bar, heading over to the mystery man. 

“What are you doing here?” Reiner asked the man, taking the black coffee and taking a drink of it. 

“Work sent me home early because the library closed so the board of directors could have a meeting. I figured I’d come see you here since I knew you wouldn’t be at home.” Reiner smiled at the man’s words, his cheeks tinted just a little pink. Julia had noticed Reiner’s slightly pale skin would flush when he was happy or excited while he spoke. 

And as though she were watching a car accident in slow motion, Julia watched as Reiner put his hands on the man’s shoulders, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. 

“Quit it, Reiner... you know how I am about PDA…” The man whined, wiping at his lips. Reiner flashed one of those smiles she had fallen in love with at this man and sat down, taking Gabi out of the wrap against his chest. He handed her to this man he had just kissed. “There’s my sweet little angel.” Gabi grabbed one of the man’s fingers. 

“Aww, she missed you, Bert.” Gabi smiled at the man named Bert, laughing when Bert kissed her face. “Do you still want to go to the park like we always do on your breaks?” Oh. Julia felt her heart breaking. That must be where he was going every day. 

“Hmm… no. We’ll be doing that on Monday if the weather’s good. Let’s go get a bite to eat at a restaurant. I’m starving.” Bert held Gabi against his shoulder, closing his eyes and rocking her back and forth. 

“Oh, while we’re here, how about I introduce you to that friend of mine that I met here? She’s the sweetest.” Julia started to panic. She just had her heart ripped out and Reiner was going to make her talk to his goddamned boyfriend? And this guy had black hair like Gabi! Was Reiner even this kid’s dad? For all she knew this Bert guy could be Gabi’s father! 

But Reiner talked about Gabi like she was his daughter! What was the truth?! How much did he never tell her because he was so tight-lipped about his personal life? 

She felt her eyes burning, a sniffle coming out. She ran to the back, forcing her manager out so she could cry by herself. 

Reiner was gone when she finally came back out. 

  


Reiner came into the coffee shop on Monday, greeted by the manager and a new barista he had never seen before. Gabi cooed against his chest, nuzzling into him. “Heya. Is Julia sick? She’s always here on Mondays is all.” Reiner took his wallet out. “Can I have a small black coffee?” 

“Oh, Julia put in her resignation on Saturday, effective immediately. She said she was going to work somewhere else. Maybe the college bookstore?” Reiner nodded. That was weird. She never said anything at all indicating that she was going to be getting a new job. He couldn’t help but feel a little hurt that she just disappeared like that without even saying goodbye. He thought of her as a good friend and enjoyed their chats. He was excited to introduce her to Bertholdt. 

Oh well. Reiner sighed and sat down in the same spot he always did, taking Gabi out of the wrap and putting her into the high chair. He gave her some banana slices he had packed, watching her eat affectionately. …It was sorta quiet, he realized, Julia not coming over to chat with him. 

The new barista came and sat with him. “Your daughter is so cute, what’s her name?” Reiner glanced at the barista and smiled. “She looks just a little younger than my daughter.” 

“Hey, Gabi, who’s that?” Gabi looked at the barista and threw a banana slice at her, Reiner cringing and the barista laughing. 

Somewhere in a book store not too far away, Julia sighed and put on her new work uniform. 

  


Time heals all wounds. It hurt badly at first, but eventually Julia moved on and the man from the coffee shop faded into a memory. She met a kind man, and graduated college. They were married, and now she was a kindergarten teacher like she always wanted. Life was good. 

She strolled along the streets of Liberio, enjoying the sunny weather. Not a cloud in the sky. Warm, with a gentle breeze caressing her hair. It was early summer, the perfect time of year. 

She stopped by the library, noting a man with black hair and a sweater carrying a box of sock puppets to the children’s area in the library. If she didn’t know any better, she could’ve sworn she had seen this man before. 

Of course living in a city meant that there were lots of people who looked like each other. Oh well. 

She made her way to the old coffee shop she used to work at, finding herself wanting a vanilla iced coffee. Her old manager wasn’t there, and she didn’t recognize the barista. She was only there for a few months, she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that none of her old coworkers were here. 

She fell out of touch with them anyways. 

Julia froze when she heard a familiar voice out in the corner of the shop. She turned her head slowly, looking to the source of the voice. 

Sitting there in the same spot he always did was Reiner, with Gabi by his side. Seeing him, and her, made it apparent just how long it had been since she left. Gabi looked… five? Six? About the same age as the children she taught. 

“Be sure to drink all your milk so your bones get really strong, okay?” Gabi was sipping from a milk carton, a snack on the table in front of her. She put the milk carton on the table, letting out a small burp. “What do we say when we burp in public like that, Gabi?” 

“Excuse me. Reiner, can I have a chocolate milk?” Gabi asked, leaning against Reiner’s arm. Julia raised a brow at that, thinking back to several years ago. Reiner must not be Gabi’s father, at least not in the literal, biological sense. Why else would Gabi call him by his name like that? 

Reiner caught her looking at him, his brows furrowing before raising in surprise. “…Julia?” 

“Hi, Reiner.” She waved at him, accepting her drink from the barista and handing them a bill. “It’s been a while.” 

“I think maybe five years. How have you been?” Gabi looked back and forth between Reiner and Julia. 

“Who’s she?” Julia smiled at Gabi. 

“You don’t remember Julia. You were too young. We used to see her every day. She worked here a long time ago.” Reiner nodded at the seat across from him and Gabi. “We don’t have anywhere to be until my husband gets off from work. Want to chat?” 

Julia relaxed and smiled at her old friend. “I’d like that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to write something from the point of view of a person not friends with or close to the family at all. What would someone who doesn't know the family do/think kinda mindset. Having a woman fall in love with one of them was where my mind went. I thought about it being a woman visiting the library every day but Gabi wouldn't have been there.
> 
> I really don't think Reiner would be the type to freely go around talking about the intimate details of his life with other people. He wasn't meant to come across as hiding Bertholdt so much as she never would've considered the possibility of a boyfriend and he didn't feel the need to discuss his romantic life.


	29. Arguing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 6, Reiner is 29, Bert is 28

Gabi groaned, her eyes feeling sore as they wearily slid open. It was dark out, and it was late. There was a gentle tapping of rain against her window, the sounds making her sleepier than she already was. She looked at the little clock that Bert put on her nightstand. 11:30? Bedtime was like three hours ago… 

…She frowned, feeling her stomach make a twisty sensation. Was Bert mad? She could hear him, but not what he was saying. He sounded really upset. He stopped talking, then he heard Reiner talking back at him. Reiner sounded like he was mad too. Were they mad at each other? That didn’t happen much. She didn’t like when Bert and Reiner got mad at each other. Weren’t they supposed to love each other? 

Well… she loved her dads and she got mad at them sometimes and they got mad at her sometimes. 

Gabi got out of bed, leaving Pock under the covers and standing up. She stretched her muscles a little and wiped at her eyes, headed towards the door to her bedroom. She very quietly pushed open her bedroom door, slipping out. Around the corner to the living room, she could see that the lamp was on, two large shadows on the wall where Bert and Reiner were standing in there. 

It was almost a little scary. Bert and Reiner were definitely arguing with each other. She crept up to the corner, peeking into the living room. Reiner was standing there with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face, Bert shaking his head while he ran a hand along his forehead. 

“You make me feel like you’re not attracted to me anymore. You never want to have sex anymore, I feel like I’m pulling teeth to get what we do have!” Bert said, Reiner rolling his eyes at that and shaking his head. 

“Don’t act like I’m not attracted to you because I can’t keep up with you. I swear the second you step over the threshold into the bedroom you act more like an animal than my husband. I feel like sex is all you care about.” Reiner scowled and shook his head. 

“I’m not even asking for that much!” Bert countered, Reiner frowning. “We don’t do it nearly as much as we used to. I get that we’re busy with Gabi and work and all that, but I want to at least feel like you still _want_ to be intimate with me!” 

“We’d do it six times a day every day if it were up to you. I can’t keep up! It wears me out when we have sex, then the next day you’re asking me to come home during your lunch break for ‘afternoon delight’ then you want to fuck again when we’re ready to go to sleep! Let me rest…” 

“That’s an exaggeration and you know it!” Bert angrily retorted. “I never pressure you to have sex, I’d never force you to do something you don’t want to do. When you say no I respect that.” 

“You saying I’m not attracted to you at all and that I’m frigid and never want to have sex is an exaggeration and you know it!” Reiner started to open his mouth to say something else, until he noticed a small shadow on the wall, his eyes going wide when he saw Gabi standing behind the corner watching him and Bert arguing. “Gabi… how long have you been standing there?” 

“Gabi?” Bert turned around quickly, seeing her standing there with a nervous look on her face. She fidgeted with her fingers, looking down at the floor. “…Did we wake you up?” 

“Yeah…” Reiner let out a heavy exhale at that, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. Bert put his hands on his hips and shook his head. He brought a hand up and ran it over his face, his expression turning guilty. “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Reiner walked over to her and picked her up. “Just go back to sleep, darling. You have to go to school in the morning.” Reiner packed her to her room, Gabi clinging to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, watching Bert following behind Reiner. Bert pulled the covers back so Reiner could put her down, him kissing her forehead. “Go to sleep so you can be rested for school.” 

“You have a big day tomorrow. Didn’t you say you’re subtracting big numbers now? You need sleep to go do that.” Bert ran his fingers through her hair. “We love you, so go to sleep and dream sweet dreams.” 

“You love each other, right?” Reiner and Bert glanced at each other and had guilty looks on their faces. Reiner ran a thumb along her cheekbone underneath her eye. 

“Yeah. We do, a whole lot. Go to sleep, dear.” Bert and Reiner both stood and turned to walk out the door. 

She noticed when Bert started to reach for Reiner’s hand and Reiner pulled away. 

She also noticed the blankets and pillows on the couch in the morning where one of them slept in the living room instead of their room. 

  


That time they fought was like three days ago, but this time Gabi knew not to get up and watch them the way she did before. Instead she just went to the hallway and stood behind the corner so they wouldn’t see her. 

“It isn’t my fault! What do you want me to do about it?!” Reiner half-shouted at Bert, his voice going soft. “It makes me feel so guilty but I can’t do anything.” 

“You have no idea how terrible it makes me feel! Having your own daughter tell you she loves her other parent more hurts, Reiner!” Bert breathed heavily. “I have to stay at work all day working so we can afford this house and our food and clothes and everything else! I missed her first word. I didn’t get to take her to school her first day of kindergarten. She’s going to remember me as an absent parent.” 

“I’m trying to work more! I hate this too, I hate seeing you hurting and I’m trying so hard to contribute financially. Every day while she’s at school. I don’t want to be a favorite parent as much as you hate being the less-preferred one. It hurts me so bad to see you hurting because you work so hard for me and her.” 

Gabi sniffled. Her parents were fighting again. They fell silent again after her sniffle, their voices falling to a whisper before footsteps headed towards the hallway where she stood. Gabi ran to her room and went under her covers, turning to face the wall. 

“…We know you’re up, Gabi. Your door wasn’t cracked when you went to sleep.” Reiner walked over and sat on his knees by her bed, Bert doing the same. She turned around and looked at them, concern etched into their tired faces. 

“Are you getting a divorce?” Bert bit his lip at that, shaking his head. 

“No. We aren’t getting divorced, we love each other.” Reiner nodded at Bertholdt’s words, grabbing the covers and tucking her in tightly. 

“But you’re fighting.” 

“You know how your friends sometimes say and do things you don’t like?” Reiner asked, Gabi nodding her head. Kaya came to her mind at the question. “Married people do that too. But the important thing is Bert and I will talk about what we disagree on and then things will get better.” 

“…We’re sorry for fighting, Gabi.” Bert started to stand, patting her belly over the covers. “Reiner and I are going to be just fine, because I love him and he loves me. So go to sleep and tomorrow morning we’ll take you to do something fun, okay?” 

“Okay…” Reiner picked up on the uncertainty in her voice, him stroking her hair. 

“It’s okay. Tomorrow Bert and I are going to take you to do something fun. Think about what you want to do and we’ll see you in the morning.” 

  


The thunder cracked outside Gabi’s window, her waking with a start and shivering a little in her bed. She wasn’t afraid of thunder and lightning. She really wasn’t. Wasps? Yes. Spiders? Definitely. The monsters in Bert’s books? Absolutely. Even Bert couldn’t protect her from the Marleyan Moth, she was sure. And he was like way tall and strong! 

She turned around in her bed, seeing the light coming from underneath her door. She looked at her clock. It was about 10:00. Bert and Reiner always stayed up later than she got to. How unfair, why did she have to go to sleep but they get to stay up? 

Gabi was really thirsty, her smacking her lips a little bit. She got up and opened her door, glancing in the direction of the living room but instead going to the kitchen. She grabbed her plastic cup from the dishwasher and filled it with some cold water, drinking part of it. The sheer relief she felt… it was fantastic. Maybe she could talk Bert into letting her put a water bottle on her nightstand. 

She took the cup back to her room, sipping on it along the way. Curiosity bubbled within her, her walking towards the living room. There was some music playing from the little speaker they kept in there by the TV. Reiner had his head on Bert’s shoulder, the two of them dancing in the living room. 

“Remember when we tried dancing to this in mom’s living room?” Reiner asked, Gabi seeing that both of them had their eyes closed. But they didn’t have any trouble at all moving in time with one another. 

“Hmm. Back then we didn’t know how to dance, though. We just kinda put our hands on each other’s shoulders and shuffled around awkwardly.” This song was pretty. 

“My darling dear, love you all the time~ I’m just a fool, a fool in love with you~” Reiner started singing along, Bert smiling while he did so. Gabi was glad Reiner was the one singing along. He had a good singing voice. Bert wasn’t good at singing at all. 

“That’s sweet…” Bert twirled Reiner, pulling him close and pecking his lips. “Remember those dance lessons we took before we got married? I’m glad we can dance now. I thought we were going to look like idiots at the wedding.” 

“You’d be my idiot though.” Bert laughed at Reiner's joke and kissed his cheek. 

Gabi grinned at the two of them. They were fine. She turned around and went back to her room, closing the door behind her so Bert and Reiner wouldn’t go checking on her. She finished sipping her water and went back to sleep, the raindrops against her window soothing her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure what I wanted them arguing about. So arguing about sex and about Gabi made sense.  
> Thanks for reading! <3


	30. Canonverse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for how this au might work in the canon universe, and I thought that was really interesting!
> 
> So Reiner and Bertholdt got married at 17/18, inherited their titans at 22/23, I pushed them back to being warriors the same time as Ksaver (in other words the last set before canon). Porco doesn't have a brother here. Pieck and Porco had Marcel about a year after inheriting so Gabi is older here. Don't think too hard about it.
> 
> Also fair warning this is pretty angsty compared to most of this fic.

“It’s beyond an honor that someone from our little family is a part of the Warrior Unit now.” Reiner smiled at his mother’s words and let her hug him, him handing her the red armband she would wear from now on. “And you husband, too. You two made us so proud already… please be the best warriors you can be. I know you will, Reiner.” 

Reiner closed his eyes and let his mother hold him. He had been selected to inherit the armored titan, and he’d actually inherited about a week ago. Bertholdt inherited the colossal titan the next day. But the needed a few days to rest and recover and become acclimated to their new powers. 

They had thirteen years now. They had to make the best of the time they had left. But at least now Reiner could rest easy knowing his family were honorary Marleyans. And Bertholdt could get his father medical care outside the internment zone. 

The others inherited at the same time, with the exception of Ksaver. The past week, a titan was passed on to the next inheritor with the exception of the beast titan; Ksaver had inherited the previous year when the past warrior was accidentally consumed by a titan on the battlefield. Porco inherited first, then himself, then Bertholdt, then Annie and finally Pieck. 

They were a little younger than the last group, but not by much. They’d all meet their ends in their mid-thirties, while the warriors they just inherited from were in their late-thirties. 

“Do Emilia and Oskar get red armbands?” Karina asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. Reiner smiled and nodded, Karina’s eyes blinking back tears. “We can finally go out, even if only a little. Reiner, can you take me to see one of those moving pictures I’ve heard about?” 

“Yes, mom. Bertholdt and I are going out to eat tonight. But maybe tomorrow, okay?” His mother nodded. Reiner spent a few minutes with his mother before he left to meet up with Bertholdt. It was uncommon for members of the military to be married to one another the way he and Bertholdt were, especially considering they had been young. 

Well, they were still young. Twenty-three and twenty-two. Reiner paused for a moment while he walked back to the military base where he and Bertholdt and the other warriors lived. They could move out, but they didn’t have families and they didn’t want to live together with one of their parents. No need to do so. 

Twenty-two and twenty-three. He’d be thirty-six when he died. That was younger than his mom. Reiner watched some children run and play with one another while he thought. Would one of them grow up and eat him one day? There wasn’t any telling. 

Bertholdt smiled and let Reiner kiss him when Reiner finally came back to their shared room at the military base. “There you are, love. Was your dad excited to get his red armband?” 

“Of course. He keeps fussing over me and worrying. You know, telling me to be careful and all.” Bertholdt laughed and scratched the back of his head, the two of them sitting on the end of their bed. “I told him only the best of the best are selected to become warriors. But I suppose it’s natural for a parent to worry.” 

“Hmm. I love you. My colossal.” Bertholdt hummed, the two of them getting up to change into their casual clothing. “Aunt Emilia is going to be due any day now. I’m excited to meet the baby. I hope this time of peace lasts a little longer so we can spend some time with the baby.” 

“Have they picked out names yet?” Reiner nodded his head. 

“Gabi is she’s a girl. Henry if he’s a boy.” Reiner pulled on his coat and readjusted his new arm band. He quite liked the red; he preferred it to the white, that was for sure. “I’m… almost a little sad. I’ll get to see the baby grow up, but only to the end of my term.” 

“It’s okay, Reiner. It’ll be okay.” Bertholdt pulled Reiner in for a hug. “We have thirteen years. That’s thirteen years you and I have together. And I’ll love you the whole time, I promise.” 

“I love you too, Bertholdt. I love you more every day.” 

  


Reiner and Bertholdt sat next to one another on the train, their resolve unbreakable. They would be going home after this battle. After they levelled this country that was causing issues in the south, Marley could annex it and they’d get to head home. 

They’d adopted sweet little Gabi about a year ago after Reiner’s Uncle Oskar and Aunt Emilia died. They were killed by a crazed man who expressed a desire to kill the Eldian devils. Despite them being honorary Marleyans with permission to be outside the internment zone. The man was hung but Gabi was orphaned until Bertholdt and Reiner adopted her. 

Of course only a few months after they adopted Gabi they were sent off to fight in a war. 

And Ksaver got to stay behind and research because he was useless in a war. Bertholdt huffed so much but in the end he and Reiner were both sent away from their baby. 

“After we capture this fort the war will be won.” Reiner said, staring out the window. “Thank god. I want to go home and see Gabi. I’ve missed her so much.” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a folded photograph of himself, Bertholdt and Gabi. She’d just turned one. 

“I miss her too. I know your mother and my father are taking good care of her in our absence, but I miss her so much it hurts. I wonder… what all have we missed?” Reiner shook his head and leaned into Bertholdt’s shoulder, the pair of them focused on her in the photograph. “She gives me something to fight for.” 

Reiner folded up the picture and put it back in his breast pocket. He looked up and scanned his surroundings. Nothing that would be bugged. Nobody else around. He leaned close to Bertholdt’s ear. “I would die for Marley… but I’d kill Willy Tybur himself to save my girl.” 

The train eventually made it to their destination. Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt, Porco and Pieck all stood at attention, their commander Magath standing before them and briefing them on the mission to overtake the last fort standing between them and victory. 

“After Braun and Mr. Galliard have disabled all railways to the fort, Mrs. Galliard and Leonhardt will ensure the delivery of Hoover into the battle. Once Hoover transforms the battle will be won.” 

And indeed it was. 

  


Reiner and Bertholdt learned what being stuck between a rock and a hard place was the moment they collected Gabi after returning from a conflict to the west. Gabi ran up to them, hugging their legs tightly. “Daddy! Papa! I missed you so much! Grandma said you’d be home soon and now you’re here!” 

“We’re so happy to see you too, sweetheart. But we took care of the bad guys and now we’re home and you’re safe.” Reiner kissed Gabi’s cheek, her laughing and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Daddy! Guess what?” Reiner pulled back and let Gabi put her hands on his shoulders while he held her. Bertholdt stood next to Reiner, running a hand up and down his daughter’s back. “Grandma Karina and Grandpa Luis were talking about the Warrior program! I wanna be a Warrior like you and Papa!” 

Reiner’s grip on Gabi tightened, her still smiling wide. “I’m five now, which means I can join the Warrior Program!” His stomach turned just a little bit. He knew they were training children to inherit the titans. Magath had told them all that in training soldiers from childhood they’d have the most elite warriors imaginable, with skills far surpassing their own. The ones to inherit their titans would be teenagers at most, but possibly younger. Into the single digits if the Warrior candidate were capable enough. 

Bertholdt gave a nervous look to Reiner, him still rubbing Gabi’s back. The three of them returned home, Gabi talking about the warrior program the whole time. 

Once they were alone in their bedroom, Reiner clung to Bertholdt. “Bertl… Gabi wants to be a warrior. She’ll only be twelve when we die… what if she inherits? She’d die at twenty-five! Our baby deserves a long, happy life! She’s got the red armband, she could live happily for decades, but… but…” Reiner sniffled, tears dripping out of his eyes while he clung to his husband. 

“I know, Reiner… I don’t want her to join the Warrior Program. I don’t know what to do. She’s already expressed so much interest and if we forbid it, it could come across treasonous.” Bertholdt’s stomach was in knots imagining his daughter throwing herself willingly into the horrors of war at such a young age. He hugged Reiner in an almost bone-crushing grip. “I don’t know how to stop this from happening, Reiner? What do we do?” 

Reiner frowned and clung desperately to his husband. “I don’t know, Bertl… I don’t know.” Reiner looked up at Bertholdt, worry in his eyes. “Maybe… maybe she won’t do that good? Maybe other candidates would be better suited to being a warrior than her?” 

Bertholdt was silent. “She’s determined. That’s the problem.” 

Reiner closed his eyes. “I know.” 

  


“Your daughter is one of the most capable candidates we’ve ever seen, Commander Braun. Vice-Commander Hoover. She’s got an eagle eye for shooting, she’s got unmatched loyalty to Marley, and she’s athletic enough to consistently win footraces. Surely she’ll be a warrior that will make Marley proud.” Magath said proudly, watching Gabi run past the other warrior candidates in the field. 

Bertholdt and Reiner sat on the back of their horses, watching the candidates training. And indeed, their daughter was in the lead. They should be beyond proud. They were pretending to be proud because they had to support her. But more than anything they were heartbroken. 

Gabi shouldn’t have her lifespan reduced to a meager thirteen years. But if they spoke out surely their whole families would be punished, including Gabi. She deserved the world. They couldn’t pull her whole life out from underneath her. 

“Which titan are they considering her inheriting?” Magath hummed at Bertholdt’s question. 

“Well, all I can say for sure is not the Cart titan. As things are going right now we’re going to be eliminating the overwhelming majority of candidates for consideration from the program. But among the others that are slated to be given the yellow armbands, there are some ideas being floated around. There’s another child who will most likely inherit the Cart. Gabi is a good soldier, but her impulsiveness might not be the best for a strategic unit.” 

They were acknowledging her faults and still talking about giving Gabi a titan. Reiner wanted to cry. This was aging him so much it was unbelievable. They hadn’t even deployed in forever, because other nations were afraid to even try engaging Marley. 

Gabi’s excitable nature, her talking a mile a minute about her friends in school, her snarky attitude towards Karina… he so badly didn’t want it extinguished. 

“As of right now, she’s been given heavy consideration for the female titan, the armored titan and the colossal titan. The female titan is an all-purpose unit, and Gabi’s skill set is wide. But she has the endurance and attitude in combat that would be suited to the armored as well. And the colossal… we have no doubt she could control it and utilize it.” 

Gabi inheriting one of their titans. Bertholdt and Reiner exchanged looks. They weren’t sure how to feel about that as opposed to her inheriting from Annie. They loved her so much… would she inherit their memories? Would she learn how badly they didn’t want her to inherit? 

“We couldn’t be more proud of our girl.” Reiner said, his eyes at the ground. Magath hummed in approval. 

Gabi finished the footrace with a healthy lead, Magath and Bertholdt and Reiner meeting her at the end of the field. Gabi tossed her gun onto the ground and ran to Bertholdt, the pack still on her back. “Papa! I finished first! Did you see how good I did?” Bertholdt hopped off his horse and leaned down, running his hand along the top of her head. 

“I saw, sweetheart. You did so good.” A happy smile from Gabi, Bertholdt’s heart fluttering at the sight of the adorable expression on his daughter’s face. “How about tonight me and daddy take you out for ice cream?” 

“Really?!” Gabi’s eyes lit up, Magath and Reiner smiling while watching the exchange. Bertholdt nodded and kissed Gabi’s cheek. 

“Yes. Now listen to Mr. Magath and go back to your training, okay? You’re going to be shooting next.” 

“Mr. Magath told me I shoot way better than daddy!” Gabi and Bertholdt both turned to look at Reiner, a blush on his face. He met their eyes and looked away, embarrassed. 

“There are plenty of warrior candidates that shoot better than Commander Braun. Don’t get too cocky, little Braun.” Magath said with a smile, Reiner frowning and not meeting anyone’s eyes. Bertholdt hopped back onto his horse, getting comfortable. 

Reiner was still blushing when he finally looked at Bertholdt again. 

  


“The warrior candidates and the titans they will inherit in two year’s time have been determined. The exception to this is, of course, Tom Ksaver and the beast titan, as his term will end a year early.” Magath’s eyes ran across the paper in his hands at the meeting with those in the Warrior program. All the warriors sat in their chairs, waiting patiently for Magath to continue. 

“The cart titan will be inherited by Udo Bock. His intelligence and ability to speak a multitude of languages will make him invaluable as a strategic unit. He has made great strides recently in keeping a level head under pressure.” Pieck nodded and kept her eyes on the table. Porco ran a hand along her back. 

“The beast titan will be inherited by Zeke Jaeger a year early. We had serious doubts about his viability as a candidate in the beginning, but he more than proved his loyalty to Marley years ago when his parents were revealed to be Eldian Restorationists. In addition, his intelligence and skills have developed considerably.” Ksaver looked beyond satisfied with the announcement. He and Zeke always were pretty close. Reiner and Bertholdt couldn’t count the number of times they walked past the two of them playing catch. 

“The female titan will be inherited by Zofia Reitsch. She’s more than capable in many areas, but after she began training under Ms. Leonhardt her skills in hand-to-hand combat have improved dramatically. Her abilities as a fighter would be excellent for the female titan, which has the build to utilize these skills.” No reaction from Annie. Nobody could say they were surprised. 

“The jaw titan will be inherited by Marcel Galliard. Someone as quick-witted and strong as him would be an excellent combat unit. We have absolute faith in his abilities on the battlefield.” Porco blinked and stared at the table. Reiner and Bertholdt both sympathized; in private the Galliards had expressed that they were no more happy with Marcel being a warrior than they were with Gabi. Intense family and societal pressure was crushing both their families. 

“The colossal titan will be inherited by Falco Grice. A god of destruction. Falco has shown talent in all areas, and we’re confident that he will learn to control the vast power of the colossal in no time at all.” Ah. What an odd feeling, Bertholdt thought. Knowing the name and face of the one who would end his life in two short years. Falco was a sweet kid. He was going to be a god of destruction that destroyed countries, just like him. Maybe he’d give Gabi a flower after he slaughtered thousands. He obviously had a crush on their daughter. 

“And obviously that leaves the armored titan, which will be inherited by Gabi Braun. I’m sure dad here is proud? I guess greatness really does run in families, as they say. Marcel and Gabi are both beyond excellent warrior candidates and they will be superior warriors.” Reiner’s heart broke, despite him knowing this was coming. He was going to die by his daughter’s hand so she could be the next inheritor of the armored titan and be one of Marley’s greatest weapons. 

Bertholdt and Reiner glanced at Pieck and Porco, and they knew at least they weren’t the only heartbroken ones. 

  


Reiner stared at himself in the mirror, running a hand through his hair. It was weird. His hair had gone from blonde to gray in only three months. Annie and Porco’s hair did, too. Pieck and Bertholdt’s hair was still black, but the curse affected them all regardless. He found himself getting weaker. At least he was dying in a time of peace. 

Bertholdt stood beside him, combing his hair. They had a week left. Pieck was going to be first, then Reiner, then Bertholdt, then Annie, and last Porco. 

Neither of them were ready to die. They were too young. They wanted Gabi to not inherit and they wanted to spend so many more years with their beautiful little girl. What a terribly cruel world they were born into. 

Reiner turned and pressed a kiss to Bertholdt, the two of them walking down the hallway of their home. Photographs littered the walls, mostly of Gabi. The two of them stopped when they heard soft crying coming from Gabi’s bedroom. Reiner gave Bertholdt a worried look, the two of them turning to her door and Reiner opening it. “Gabi…?” 

Gabi was laying on her belly, hugging a pillow to her face and sobbing into it. Bertholdt and Reiner made their way to the bed, sitting on it. “Gabi, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Bertholdt asked, reaching a hand down and rubbing her backside delicately. Gabi turned to look at the two of them, her face setting into one of absolute heartbreak. She got up and clung tightly to both of them, an arm around each of their necks. 

“D-daddy… papa… I don’t want you two to die! I don’t want you to die! Please, don’t leave me! Please!” Gabi sobbed, breaking both of her parent’s hearts at the same time. If they’d have known they’d be taking her in, they would have never become warriors. They’d have stayed ordinary Eldian soldiers with white armbands and they’d live their days together with their sweet girl. “I’m so scared, I don’t want to lose my daddy and my papa…” 

“Oh, sweetheart…” Reiner pulled Gabi close to his chest, her ear pressed to his chest in a way that she could hear his hearbeat. Gabi cried hard into him, getting the fabric of his shirt wet. “You know we’ll always be with you, no matter what. Even after we die, we’ll be with you.” Bertholdt’s eyes burned, him hugging Reiner so Gabi was in between them. Gabi didn’t stop crying, her starting to hiccup. 

“We’re going to miss you too, sweetheart. So much. We love you. We always have. We’re so, so proud of you and I know you’re going to be a fantastic warrior. You’re going to do great things.” Bertholdt kissed the top of Gabi’s head, stroking her hair delicately. 

“I don’t care about all that! I want you two to wake me up and make me soup and kiss me goodnight! I love you and you’re going to die and leave me…” Gabi choked out in choppy spurts, Reiner feeling his cheeks start to wet. He pulled Gabi off his chest and looked at her red, grief-stricken face. 

“Gabi. My sweetheart. You know how when people inherit titans they sometimes inherit memories?” A shaky nod. “Well, you’ll get to inherit my memories. So it’s like I get to live on in you, okay?” Bertholdt let out a muffled sob, him shaking his head while he held his hand over his mouth. “Any time you feel proud of yourself, that’ll be me being proud of you. Any time you love yourself, that’ll be me, loving you so much. And someday, I promise we’ll be together again.” 

“You promise?” Gabi asked tearfully, Reiner nodded and kissed her cheeks. Bertholdt pulled back, Gabi letting go of Reiner and clinging to Bertholdt’s chest. He continued running his fingers through her hair, her nuzzling into him. “I don’t want to say goodbye, papa…” 

“I know, sweetheart. I don’t want to say goodbye to you, either. But you’ve grown up to be so smart, so caring, so full of love. I’m so happy you’re my daughter. I couldn’t have asked for a more special, beautiful, capable girl. I know you’ll be a good armored titan. I know whatever you want to do, you’ll be good at it.” 

Gabi nodded sadly but still couldn’t stop herself from crying. 

  


“You’ll take this needle, and you’ll put it into your arm right here, Gabi…” Reiner said, handing her the syringe of titan spinal fluid. Her hand was shaky, unable to hold the needle still in her hand. She was breathing heavily. 

He wished the last time he saw Gabi she would be happy and smiling and laughing like usual, but he couldn’t possibly expect her to feel that way now. 

“What’s it like? Does it hurt being a titan?” Gabi asked, staring down at the needle. Bertholdt stood behind her, gently rubbing her shoulders. Reiner shook his head, moving to sit on his knees. The white robe he wore matched the white gown Gabi wore for the inheritance. “I’m scared, daddy…” 

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’ll hurt, but only for a second. You won’t remember being a titan. You’ll be really, really tired when you come out of the titan. You’ll probably fall asleep as soon as you come out. And then you’ll sleep for a long time. And you’ll dream a lot. But it’ll be okay. I promise.” 

Gabi turned and looked nervously at Bertholdt. He nodded his head. “He’s right, dear. You won’t remember anything that happens after you turn into a titan, so you don’t need to be afraid.” 

It wasn’t lost on Gabi that this wasn’t just the last time she’d see Reiner but also Bertholdt, because when she came out of the titan and fell asleep she would stay asleep until after Bertholdt was gone too. She shivered and hugged Reiner tightly, Bertholdt getting on his knees and hugging his husband and daughter. 

“It’s okay, dear, it’s okay…” Reiner said over and over again. 

After a few minutes, the general approached the three of them. “I hate to break this up but we have places to be, and we need to get the chamber ready for tomorrow’s inheritance.” 

How cruel, Reiner thought. He pulled away from his daughter, kissing her one last time. “I love you. Always.” 

Bertholdt swallowed and felt his chest tighten watching Reiner get chained up. Reiner stared down at Gabi, her shaking her head. The needle shook violently in her hand, until she let out a loud, pained sound and stabbed her arm with it. Her eyes glowed, a titan with long, black hair forming where she stood. 

Bertholdt looked at her titan. He’d seen titans here and there in his time. She was pretty, even as a titan. But he couldn’t watch, instead turning away so he didn’t have to watch his husband die. 

Reiner watched the titan in front of him set its eyes on him, a large hand grabbing at him. He closed his eyes and thought about a time long ago when he and Bertholdt sang Gabi to sleep with a sweet lullaby. 

“Gabi!” Bertholdt said after the titan collapsed, him sprinting over to find her emerging from the nape of her titan’s neck. The telltale markings around her eyes were there, Bertholdt swallowing at the sight. Her eyes were closed, her body slack. Bertholdt pulled her out of the titan and held her against his chest, rocking her back and forth. “I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here.” He squeezed her, kissing her temples and assuring her it would all be okay. 

  


“Look how sweet she is, Bertholdt.” 

What was this? It was like she was seeing through someone else’s eyes. There was a baby with black hair in her arms. They weren’t hers, though, they were too big. Where were her arms? This person brought the baby up and kissed her cheeks, then her nose. 

Oh, there was her papa. Bertholdt smiled and held out his hands, him cooing softly at the baby. She felt herself smile. “The sweetest. I love her so much. She’s going to be so beautiful, I know.” 

“Our sweet Gabi.” Gabi frowned for a minute… Huh? Was this one of her daddy’s memories? Gabi closed her eyes and tried to focus. When she opened her eyes again she was running after herself, a wide smile on her own face. It was weird, looking at herself through her someone else’s eyes. 

“Catch me, daddy!” She chirped, Reiner and herself running after the younger Gabi. 

“Come back here, you little stinker!” She heard her daddy’s voice again, Gabi comforted by it. She wanted to wake up and have him make her some soup. That’d be so nice. Mr. Magath worked her too hard sometimes but daddy and papa always made it better. She caught herself, the younger Gabi being hoisted up and kissed on the cheek. 

“I love you, daddy.” The younger Gabi said, nuzzling the broad chest she clung to. Gabi watched herself have her hair stroked tenderly, a warm feeling blooming in her chest. 

“I love you too, sweetheart…” Gabi felt tired. Too tired, really… she wanted to sleep. She didn’t feel anchored to a body, instead feeling like her mind was floating around. 

“Daddy…” Gabi thought to herself. 

“Gabi?” Who was that? 

“Daddy…?” 

“Gabi…” 

Her eyes cracked open, the room too bright. She shook her head, finding herself with a headache. The blankets around her kept her snug and warm, like a hug. Gabi sat up and stretched out her arms, wiping at her eyes and finding herself in a room she recognized as one at the military base. 

Grandma Karina was here? Why was Grandma Karina here? Karina gently stroked her hair, tucking some of the bedhead behind Gabi’s ear. 

Everything was a blur, Gabi not even sure what month it was. She pulled the blanket back up her chest and wrapped herself up. 

“Grandma… tell daddy I want some of his eggs… I’m tired…” Karina frowned and shook her head. 

“Gabi?” Gabi raised her eyebrows and looked blearily at her grandma. “Gabi, sweetie… daddy and papa are gone.” 

“Huh?” She rubbed her eyes again and drank from the cup of water by the table. “Gone where? We’re not at war…” 

“Gabi… they’re dead, sweetheart. Remember? You inherited the power of the armored titan and Falco inherited the power of the colossal titan. Reiner and Bertholdt… your daddy and papa are both dead.” Gabi’s eyes went wide, her clapping a hand to her face and shaking her head. Tears started pouring out of her eyes, her world collapsing in on itself while Karina held her tightly. 

  


Gabi and Falco sat around the fire with Zofia and Marcel, their arms crossed. They had been sent to the island to take back the founding titan from the island devils. Falco closed his eyes and leaned to the side, resting his head on Gabi’s shoulder and getting a smile in return. 

Gabi reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a folded-up photograph, looking at it longingly. It was an old picture that her daddy used to keep in the breastpocket of his uniform, and now Gabi kept it with her. Her papa, her daddy and her as a baby. “I miss daddy and papa. I wonder if they’d be proud that we’re on such an important mission?” 

“I think the same about mom and dad.” Marcel said, staring into the fire. He reached into his bag and pulled out his own picture of his parents. They weren’t supposed to bring these to the island; the people of the island didn’t have this technology and pictures would be a dead giveaway that something was up. “I think they’re proud. We’re going to save the world from the island devils.” 

“Yeah… we’re going to save the world.” The sun was coming up over the horizon, the four of them standing and dusting themselves off. They all took sips of their water and stretched out. 

“Okay, so here’s the plan. I’ll use jaws to get us part of the way to the wall, then Zofia will use her titan to take us the rest of the way. Falco will use the colossal to break the outer wall, and Gabi will knock down the inner wall. I’ll keep Falco and Zofia safe until we can rendezvous with Gabi.” Marcel recited their plan, the other three nodding their heads. 

“Sounds like a plan.” Gabi shielded her eyes when Marcel transformed into his titan, her and Falco and Zofia hopping on. Gabi took out her picture and looked at it while she rode on Marcel’s shoulder. “Daddy, papa… I’ll save the whole world and make you proud. You said I’ll see you again one day… ” 

... 

.. 

. 

  


“Look how cute she is, Bertl.” Reiner said tiredly, rocking the sleeping baby back and forth in his arms. Bertholdt sat down next to him, reaching a finger over and poking her nose. “The most perfect baby in the world.” 

“Yes. She’s perfect.” Bertholdt ran a hand along the top of her head, him leaning over and kissing her head. Gabi stirred a little in Reiner’s arms at that, Reiner leaning over and putting his head on Bertholdt’s shoulder. “It’s already been a month since we moved into our house and took her in. She’s growing like a little weed. She's already starting to outgrow those little dresses Annie gave us.” 

“I know. I remember mom would always say I’d always be her baby no matter how old I got. I think I understand that now.” Bertholdt and Reiner went back to snuggling on the couch, cooing over their Gabi. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this request made me kinda sad! :( But at the same time it was a really fun fill.  
> I felt like there was no way for Bert and Reiner to actually save Gabi here. When I wrote this I didn't imagine Marcel dying on the way to the wall, by the way. You can leave it to your imagination what happens next. ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> (This picture I commissioned from [Moonlightshadxw](https://twitter.com/Moonlightshadxw)! Check her out.)


	31. Depression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for Reiner having a depressive episode, Gabi old enough to understand.  
> Gabi is 14, Bert is 36, Reiner is 37

“Reiner, I’m home!” Gabi shouted as she pushed open the front door of the house. She’d gone out with Udo after school to hang out. He wanted someone to go with him to the arcade, and who was she to turn down an afternoon out with her friend at the arcade? 

Reiner was sitting on the couch in the living room, wrapped up in a blanket and apparently watching Judge Zackley on TV; weird because he didn’t normally watch shows like that. Normally Bert liked shows like that more and even he didn’t care for judge shows. There were some dark circles under his eyes, and his beard was a little scragglier than usual. She’d thought so when he drove her to school that morning, but she wasn’t sure if she imagined it or not because she was so tired. 

“Stop yelling, Gabi…” Reiner said, only stirring a little whenever she announced her presence. His eyes were half-lidded, and Gabi noticed the bags of chips scattered on the coffee table. Normally he threw his trash away as soon as he was done. Gabi put her book bag down by the door and walked over to Reiner, sitting on the couch next to him. He groaned slightly and glanced at his daughter. “Gabi, can you get me some medicine from my bathroom?” 

“Oh, yeah. Give me a second.” That was weird too. Reiner didn’t usually ask for favors when he wasn’t busy. She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the medicine, getting two pills and taking them back out. There was a cup of water on the coffee table, so she took them out and handed them over. “Reiner, guess what?” 

“Hmm?” Reiner asked, taking the pills and wrapping himself back up in the blanket as soon as he was done. He looked at Gabi, her noticing the bags under his eyes even more. He must be really tired. Gabi leaned into him, but Reiner didn’t wrap an arm around her like he normally did. 

“Udo won so many tickets at the arcade today! But I beat his score on the dinosaur hunting game! Bert teaching me to shoot gives me an advantage.” Gabi said excitedly, Reiner closing his eyes whenever she increased the volume of her voice. “Udo says it isn’t fair, which is the same thing Marcel says. Sucks for them!” 

“Mmm. Sounds fun.” Reiner said, his voice monotone. His eyes were on the TV but he didn’t seem to actually be paying much attention, because he wasn’t reacting to anything on the screen. Gabi frowned a little at his lack of reaction to her story. Did he not care? 

“So I was in biology class with Marcel today and we dissected those baby pigs. But we got in trouble because Marcel kept pulling a tendon and made the pig wave at Mr. Berner.” Gabi laughed while she remembered the story, Mr. Berner having told them to knock it off and take the dissection seriously before they were kicked out. Good thing Marcel was smart and got them out of that. 

“Ah.” Gabi frowned again. He didn’t even tell her to behave in class. Gabi looked at the floor for a minute, then got up and went to her room. She noticed that Reiner didn’t look at her as she got up and left. 

She heard heavy footsteps get up after some time had passed, Reiner making his way to the kitchen. It must be his turn to make dinner. Bert should be home soon enough, he had said he’d probably be a little late today because of something with work. Gabi wasn’t really interested in watching Reiner cook, so instead she just laid on her bed and played with her phone. 

The sound of the front door opening came after some time, followed by footsteps to her room. There was a knock on her door. “Gabi.” 

“Huh?” She answered back, Bert opening the door. He put her book bag down on the floor of her room. 

“Stop putting your book bag by the front door. We have this conversation every day.” He closed the door back, Gabi rolling her eyes and shaking her head a little. What a hardass. Why did it even matter? She could tell his footsteps were headed towards the kitchen. Bert must be going to Reiner. 

Her door opened again after a few more minutes. Bert peeked his head in. “Dinner’s ready, Gabi.” 

“Okay.” She put her phone in her pocket and went to the dining room, the dinner on the table. It looked like casserole. Reiner must’ve wanted to make something easy. There were some mashed potatoes too, and a cup of juice already poured for her at her seat. 

Reiner looked _really_ tired, and Bert was running a hand up and down his back. Gabi took the serving spoon and put some of the casserole on her plate. Reiner’s plate was still empty, but Bert’s had food that had been picked at a little. She took a bite of her mashed potatoes. Instant potatoes? That was weird. They were bland, too… usually Reiner put lots of butter and a little bit of pepper in. 

The casserole was… _okay._ Bland. Usually she was excited when Reiner made tuna casserole but it didn’t taste like much of anything. The table was quiet, Bert eating and Reiner pushing his food around with his fork. 

“What’s with your casserole tonight, Reiner? It’s not that good compared to usual.” Bert’s eyes flew to Gabi, then to Reiner. She didn’t notice, instead looking at Reiner. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, his hand rubbing his forehead. 

“I’m sorry my food isn’t good enough…” Reiner said quietly, him staring absently into the plate in front of him. Gabi frowned and looked at Bert, who was staring at Reiner, his hands gripping his silverware tightly. Bert put down his fork and started to reach over to put a hand on Reiner’s shoulder, but he pulled away. 

“I didn’t say that, Reiner, it’s just different than-” Reiner stood up suddenly and looked at Gabi, tears dripping out of his eyes. 

“I’m sorry! I’m trying my best, okay?!” Reiner pushed in his chair and walked out of the room, leaving his plate on the table. Bert stood and reached out a hand, calling out his husband’s name. He swallowed and sat back down when Reiner left. 

“I didn’t mean to make Reiner upset, Bert...” Bert looked at Gabi and shook his head a little, picking at his food. Gabi looked down at her dinner and ate, not really impressed but not wanting an empty belly. 

“Reiner’s dealing with a lot right now. You know, since Aunt Karina’s been in the hospital after that car accident he’s been having a really hard time.” Bert ate a little more of his food, but shook his head and rubbed his temples. “He’s really depressed right now. That doesn’t mean it’s okay for him to lash out at you, but besides just now he hasn’t. He still loves you. This will pass.” 

“How do you know? He’s never done this before…” Gabi said, finishing what was on her plate. She didn’t really want more, instead pushing her plate away. 

“He has. You just don’t remember. Usually he’s really good about noticing something’s wrong and he takes steps to catch it before he spirals. He got too stressed out and stopped taking care of himself.” Bert finished his plate and got a little more, sprinkling some salt on it. “Reiner is really sensitive right now. Just try to be really nice to him. He’s tired and irritable and sad. But he still likes feeling loved.” 

“When will he be better?” She didn’t like Reiner being like this. She’d noticed him acting funny the past week or so, now that she thought about it. Normally Reiner would’ve asked her how much she beat Udo by and what they wanted to spend their tickets on. And he'd tell her to stop being stupid in class and to listen to her teacher. 

“Reiner stopped taking his medicine but I’m making sure he’s taking it again. And he’s going back to the doctor in a few days.” Bert got up and brought back a couple of cupcakes for the two of them to split. Gabi got some blue frosting on her face while she ate. “Give him a couple of weeks, sweetheart. It’s hard whenever he’s depressed.” 

“Is he going to be okay? A couple of weeks sounds like a long time.” Bert finished his cupcake and put the wrapper back down, then packed up the dishes and took them to the kitchen. Gabi took the food and helped him put it up. 

Gabi looked at Reiner's plate of untouched food. Bert took it and scooped the food back into the pan. 

“Reiner will be fine. Just… he needs reminders that people love him right now. He feels really bad and worthless.” Gabi frowned. 

“But why? Reiner isn’t worthless.” Bert took her back to the dining table. “He’s a good dad and I love him.” 

“It isn’t that simple, dear. You know that and I know that and usually he knows that. He just needs some extra love right now, okay?” 

“Okay. Should I say sorry about dinner?” A shake of the head. 

“No. That’s not really what he’s upset about. You didn’t do anything wrong. Just spend a little time with him and remind him you love him. He’ll be back soon enough.” 

“Mmm.” That didn’t really help much when she went back to her room and heard crying. 

  


Gabi plopped her book bag by the door, rubbing her shoulder because she brought her biology textbook home and it was too heavy. Marcel was coming over tomorrow and they were going to do their work together then. “Reiner?” No answer. She looked around and got no answer. Not in the living room, not in the dining room… not in the study or in his sewing room… “Reiner?” She tapped on his closed bedroom door. No response. 

His car was in the driveway, so he should be home. She turned the doorknob, finding his bedroom unlocked. She pushed open the door, seeing Reiner asleep on his side of the bed. That was beyond odd; Reiner was never in bed this late. Gabi walked over to his nightstand and looked at him. He was breathing steadily. He had looked really tired lately, so she would let him rest. Gabi went to the bathroom and got two pills and a cup of water, putting them on his nightstand. She brought in a cupcake and put it on the nightstand by the water. 

Gabi leaned down and pat Reiner’s cheek. His face twitched a little but he didn’t stir. She pulled the blanket up to keep him warm, then turned around and left him alone. 

She watched TV by herself for a few minutes before Bert sent her a text message. He’d be late coming home again, he was picking up some takeout because he didn’t feel like cooking after being held late at work due to “an incident.” That made sense, she supposed. 

Reiner came out of his room a few minutes later, his lips a little blue from the cupcake. He was dressed in his normal clothes, but they were wrinkled from sleeping in them. He rubbed at his temples and sat down next to Gabi on the couch. She smiled at him and leaned against him, him putting a hand on her shoulder. “Hello, sweetheart. Did you put the cupcake there for me?” 

“Yeah. I thought you’d like it.” Reiner hummed, Gabi watching him bring a hand up to wipe at his face; some of the blue came off but his lips were still a little blue. 

“Thank you, Gabi.” Reiner yawned, still waking up. Gabi looked at him with concern; his eye bags were still dark. He was exhausted. But he saw her looking at him and smiled at her. “Did you have a good day today, dear?” 

“Yeah. It was good. Mr. Berner isn’t mad at me anymore.” Reiner nodded. 

“Why was he mad at you?” Oh, he didn’t even remember what she told him yesterday. Part of her was saddened by that. But part of her was happy he didn’t remember she had been in trouble. 

“Oh… nothing important…” Gabi lied, Reiner accepting it. Reiner stood after a minute, stretching out his body. Gabi stood too, Reiner looking down at her and blinking. “Whatcha doing, Reiner?” 

“I need to go start on dinner before Bertholdt gets home.” Reiner must not have checked his phone. Surely Bert would tell Reiner not to cook if he was bringing home food. Either that or Reiner forgot what day it was. 

“Bert’s bringing home dinner.” A nod. 

“That’s nice… I didn’t really want to cook, honestly.” Gabi chewed her lower lip. Reiner yawned again, his face having no expression whatsoever. 

“Reiner?” He looked at her and raised a brow. Gabi met his eyes. “Can we go sit on the swing in the backyard?” Reiner didn’t say anything, but he nodded and the two of them made their way to the bench under the tree in the backyard. 

“What’d you want to come out here for?” Reiner asked, closing his eyes and enjoying the warm breeze on his skin. Gabi couldn’t help but notice that his beard was getting longer and less maintained. Gabi leaned over into him and let him hold her. 

“I just wanted to talk.” Gabi mumbled, him kissing her head. She wasn’t embarrassed; nobody was watching them through the fence. Reiner hummed and looked at the ground. “We haven’t lately.” 

“I’m sorry, Gabi. I know that I’ve not been fun to be around.” Reiner and Gabi both started looking at the birdfeeder that Bert put up. He’d greased it so that the squirrels would stop climbing it to steal the seeds. 

“It’s okay. Let’s just talk.” Reiner nodded, smiling to himself when a squirrel tried to climb up the birdfeeder and kept sliding back down due to the grease. “Are you not happy with me, Reiner?” 

“I’m always happy with you.” Gabi hummed and looked at the ground silently. “Did I say something? You look like something’s on your mind.” Gabi fidgeted with her hands and looked up at him. 

“You just haven’t paying much attention to me and I thought you were ignoring me.” Reiner sighed and ran a hand over his face. Gabi felt him lean over to kiss her cheek, then he hugged her. 

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I’ve just… had a hard time lately. It isn’t your fault.” He hugged her and Gabi realized that for the first time, it felt like he was hugging her more for himself than for her. Weird. But she hugged him back, him squeezing her tighter. “You’re one of the two loves of my life. I’m sorry I’ve been so tired and irritated. I promise I’m working on it. Bert’s helping me too. You don’t need to worry about me.” 

“I just want you to feel better. It makes me sad to see you sad.” Reiner hummed and let go of her. 

“I know. I promise I’ll be better soon. It makes me happy to see my girl happy. So just have lots of fun and spend time with your friends.” Gabi nodded and leaned back into the bench. A couple of birds were chirping, Reiner watching the squirrel give up and scurry away. 

“So Aunt Karina showed me your old high school yearbooks when I spent the weekend with her last week.” Gabi said, gauging Reiner’s reaction to the change of topic. 

“Oh, god…” Reiner buried his face in his hand, shaking his head a little and getting a smile from Gabi. 

“Why did Bert look like that?” Gabi asked, Reiner cocking a brow at her and stifling a chuckle. 

“You’ll need to be more specific than that, dear…” Part of him was glad she brought up Bertholdt instead of him. Both of them definitely had interesting fashion choices in high school. 

“Well he wore those sweaters like he does now, but then he went emo. Then he quit that and got all those face piercings and went punk rock. Snakebites, eyebrow piercings, a nose stud and a septum piercing?” 

"Well, with the emo stuff it was the early 2000's. Look at Pieck, she was similar. Annie wanted to dye her hair black but her dad wouldn't let her. And she didn't disobey him. Wasn't really my style though." 

"What about the piercings?" 

“Bert's parents wanted a picture-perfect suburban family and Bert was upset with them. So he bucked on them and got lots of piercings the second he turned eighteen. And he got all the piercings before picture day his senior year. His mom was pissed. But when he moved out I guess college made him change his style. We didn't really talk much about it.” Bert acting like that? That was near unthinkable. Now Gabi wanted to see if she could see tiny little holes on Bert’s face. “The snakebites made making out different for a while, actually…” 

“Reinerrrrr, stop…” Gabi whined, Reiner chuckling to himself and stopping. “Let’s talk about something else…” Of course she knew her parents were teenagers once and that they were affectionate and stuff. But seeing them kiss one another at home now was enough for her. 

“Okay. What did you and Marcel do to make your biology teacher mad at you?” Reiner asked. Gabi started fidgeting and looked at Reiner nervously, him giving her a knowing look. 

“So why did you pop your collars so much? Lots of pictures of you are like that. And you have those sunglasses on too.” 

Reiner sputtered and blushed, embarrassed to remember what he did in high school because he thought he looked cool. Gabi smiled and leaned into him, happy to have her dad spending time with her again. And it’d be fine, because even if he was hurting he’d get better like he always did. 

And she definitely wasn’t doing anything lame like her parents did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in my high school you could pick when you took certain classes so it'd be possible for a 16-year old (marcel) and a 14-year old (gabi) to share classes but apparently other schools weren't like that? like when I took physics I was 18 but there were 16-year olds with me.
> 
> I have depression but at the same time while I was writing this I was like "is this what it's like"  
> I've been having some health problems lately but I'm hoping since I'm on the mend I'll be able to get a little more written soon!  
> To the requester, hope this is along the lines of what you wanted :)


	32. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a request for Annie to make an appearance  
> She lives in the same city, in a different suburb kinda across the city. Gabi would've been in the bus for a while.
> 
> Gabi is 16, Annie is 39

_Chop… chop… chop…_

Annie watched the knife in her hand carefully while she minced the mushrooms in front of her. The meal would last some time, since the recipe made six servings and she lived by herself. Maybe she could take a meal into the gym and share with one of her coworkers. 

She didn’t mind living by herself and being single. Relationships never worked for her anyways. And part of her always found herself happier when she wasn’t in a relationship. It wasn’t that she didn’t need anyone else to be happy, but her friends and family were enough. 

Mikasa wanted kids and she didn’t. That was fair. A few years after their breakup she got married to someone they went to school with a long time ago. Annie was happy for her. Mikasa was happy. 

Hitch was never able to move on from her husband. Annie couldn’t blame her. Marlowe died far too young and Hitch was too wrapped up in taking care of their son by herself. That was fair too. 

Eren was okay at first but he just didn’t get along with any of her friends and she wasn’t about to pick some guy over the people that’d always cared about her. Last she heard he and Armin got divorced but she hadn’t seen him in years. 

Sometimes she thought about Marcel. He wanted to ask her out, according to Porco... and she wanted him to ask her out, but he was dead and she was alive. When she looked at the pictures of him and her and he was frozen in time while she continued to age it became all the more apparent. 

Okay… she put the food on to cook and went to her couch, sitting down and stretching out. She turned on the TV and put on an old movie she always liked, more for background noise than anything else. 

No work at the gym tomorrow, no Muy Thai classes to teach. What might she do? The art museum had a new exhibit open… Reiner was free while Bertholdt was at work and Gabi was at school, since it was going to be Thursday and he didn’t work Thursdays. Maybe she and him could go do something after he finished his errands. 

A tapping at the window drew Annie’s attention. A frown crossed her face, her sitting up carefully and slowly. The tapping continued after it had stopped for a second. Annie’s fists balled up, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. 

Familiar brown eyes and black hair greeted Annie when she got closer to the window and pulled back the curtain. Annie’s eyes opened wide in surprise, Gabi looking at her with a smile. It was a farce, Annie could tell. There were dried tears on her cheeks, and her eyes looked tired. Annie shook her head and pointed her finger towards the door, Gabi nodding and heading that way. 

“Do Bertholdt and Reiner know you’re here?” Annie asked bluntly when she opened the door and Gabi walked in, her kicking her shoes off and plopping onto Annie’s couch. 

“Why would they care?” Ah. So that was a no. Gabi’s tone of voice was angry, her voice scratchy. She crossed her arms on the couch and scowled. 

“Because they’re your parents?” Annie closed the door and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed her cell phone and checked it. No calls or texts from either of them. “How’d you get all the way out here anyways? You can’t drive.” 

“Bus.” Gabi said shortly. “It wasn’t hard at all. It’s not like I don’t know how to get here on my own. Geez, I’m not stupid…” Annie raised a brow at that and went to the kitchen to check on her dinner. Good thing she made plenty. She’d feed Gabi while she was here. 

“I didn’t say you were.” Annie grabbed a cup of water and gave it to Gabi, her accepting it. “What happened that made you come all the way out here?” No use in scolding Gabi. She either got it from her parents and that’s what made her come here or she was going to get it for coming all the way out here. 

“They kicked out this guy I was talking to.” Annie said nothing, waiting for Gabi to continue. “There was this guy at school and he was really cute… I brought him home and we were hanging out before Bert and Reiner came home.” 

“I thought you took friends home all the time. Last time I talked to Reiner he said he felt like Marcel lived there half the time.” Gabi caught the granola bar Annie tossed to her and took a bite, Gabi shaking her head. 

“They didn’t care that he was over. We were sitting on the couch and… uh…” 

“You were kissing, I assume.” Gabi blushed and didn’t respond. “I was a teenager once too. Is it that hard to believe?” Annie joked, grabbing her water bottle and sitting next to Gabi on the couch. Gabi glanced over at her but kept staring at the floor. 

“Bert got home first and we stopped kissing because then it was weird, so we just watched some TV. Bert didn’t say much but he went to the kitchen and started dinner. A little later Reiner came home with a giant bouquet of flowers and kissed Bert.” 

“So? Your parents do that all the time.” Gabi rolled her eyes. 

“I’m know, it's gross. But Noah had this look on his face, then looked at me and said I never said I lived with a couple of… uh… well, Reiner got mad and asked if there was a problem and then Noah called Reiner a freak of nature and Bert got mad. Everyone started arguing with one another and finally Bert kicked him out.” 

“So how did that lead to you getting here?” Annie finished her bottle of water and stretched out. 

“Reiner and Bert started yelling at me about what kind of people do I hang out with and did I have any standards at all. And Reiner asked how I could be so stupid. Bert said he was disappointed in me. So I went in my room and locked the door. Then I climbed out the window and came here.” 

“Need to let it out?” A nod. Annie stood and gestured for Gabi to follow her to the basement, where Annie had the punching bag up. Gabi put on the gloves and started hitting the bag. “How long do you think you have until they freak out?” 

“I don’t care.” Gabi’s brow started to sweat, Annie leaving her alone and going back upstairs. She got the food finished and put it on the counter, grabbing two glasses and making two plates before putting it on the table. Annie went back downstairs, finding Gabi wailing on the bag. 

“Easy there, kiddo. Who’s the bag supposed to be?” 

“Bert. Reiner. How could they embarrass me so much? Noah’s going to tell everyone at school!” Gabi grit her teeth and tossed off the gloves. “I don’t know. Noah too. How can he be so mean to my parents?” Gabi started to sniffle and wiped at her eyes. “How can he say such mean things about me? I thought he liked me, I liked him…” 

“Come on upstairs, Gabi.” Annie led Gabi up and the two of them sat at the dinner table, Gabi picking at the food Annie had put out. “Are you going to be okay?” 

“I don’t know… I just wanted Noah to like me and he said there were plenty of girls out there.” Annie pat Gabi’s shoulder. “Everyone’s been so mean today…” 

Annie glanced down at her phone when it started vibrating on the table. A picture of Reiner popped up on the screen at the incoming call. Gabi’s skin paled a little, Annie shaking her head at Gabi and standing up. “Give me a minute. You’ll be fine. I promise.” 

The air was chilly, Annie slipping on her house shoes and sitting on her back porch. She hit the answer button and brought the phone to her ear. “Reiner.” 

“Annie! Is Gabi there? I just talked to Pieck and she and Porco haven’t seen her, and-” 

“I have her. She’s fine.” Annie adjusted and closed her eyes while she spoke. “You and Bert hurt her feelings. Why did you two call her stupid?” An exhale on the other end of the line. 

“We didn’t mean it, we just,” Reiner paused on the other end of the line, Annie waiting for him to go on. “We were just upset she brought home someone homophobic and then he said she wasn’t the only nice piece of ass around when he left. We were disappointed and upset, and…” 

“Reiner. You and Bertholdt need to get a grip. She's a _teenager_. And you hurt her.” A tense silence. Annie pulled the phone back to make sure she was still connected. She crossed her legs and leaned back. 

“…I know.” She could hear Reiner sniffle a little. She could also hear Bertholdt in the background asking Reiner if he found Gabi, and a ‘thank god’ when Reiner said yes. 

“I’m keeping her tonight. You two need to calm down. You know teenagers do stupid things.” 

“We just wanted to make sure she’s okay and that she-” 

“You hurt her, Reiner. How do you think she feels? She likes some boy enough to bring him home, then he calls her dads freaks of nature. Then you start arguing with him and Bertholdt kicked him out. Then you and Bertholdt start arguing with her and call her stupid?” No response on the other end of the line. “Is Bertholdt still in there?” 

“Yeah, he is.” Good. Annie was getting angrier the more she thought about the whole situation. They were great parents most of the time which made this situation all the more frustrating. 

“Put me on speaker.” She heard Bertholdt’s voice in the background after a minute. “Bertholdt. Reiner. You hurt Gabi.” 

“We know, Annie, we-” 

“You. Hurt. Her. I’m just making sure it sinks in for you two because you two can be idiots. She’s a teenage girl, of course she’s going to be stupid.” A pause on the other end of the line. Reiner and Bertholdt must look like kicked puppies on the other end of the line. “Besides, she’s being a lot smarter than you two idiots were.” 

“Huh?” Bertholdt made a confused sound on the end of the line. 

“You two snuck out at least once a week to go fuck in Reiner’s mom’s car. And you both lied to your parents about it. At least Gabi was being honest and brought him home. How would you feel if Gabi took Reiner’s car saying she was going to hang out with Marcel then went out having sex instead?” 

“That’s different, Annie, we-” Annie scowled. She knew one of them would try to justify their own idiocy. 

“Shut up, Bertholdt. You know I’m right. You’re just being hypocrites.” Silence, again. “The stupidest thing she did was sneak out of the house, but at least she had the sense to come to me. I’m keeping her and taking her to school tomorrow. Reiner can drop off her book bag at school so she has her homework.” 

“…Okay. Annie? Can you tell her we’re sorry? And we love her?” Annie shook her head and ran a hand down her face. Bertholdt didn’t deserve to have her doing any favors for him. 

“Fine. And I’m calling Gabi tomorrow night. If she says you two said anything to her or if she gets in trouble for anything I’ll come over there and break all four of your legs.” 

“Okay. …Thanks, Annie.” 

“Okay. Bye.” Annie hung up on them and put her cell phone in the pocket of her pajama pants, then went back inside. Gabi had finished her food and had gotten another serving. Annie smiled at her, Gabi giving her a sheepish smile. 

“Sorry, I’m just really hungry. I didn’t eat dinner at home.” Annie shook her head and started eating her own dinner. 

“It’s okay. I made plenty. And you’re a growing girl so you need to eat. You’re spending the night with me tonight, you’re about the same size as me so you can wear some of my pajamas.” Gabi fidgeted a little with her fork and looked at Annie nervously. “I’ll take you to school and Reiner is dropping off your book bag to the school. I hope you don’t have any homework due tomorrow.” 

“Nothing I can’t copy off Udo before class.” Gabi joked, then took a sip of her juice. “I really liked him, Annie. When he called my dads freaks it hurt... I don't want to see him anymore." 

"Then don't. He doesn't deserve someone like you anyways. Bertholdt and Reiner can be stupid but they raised a smart girl. You'll find someone special someday. If you want to." 

"Thanks, Annie." Gabi pushed her food around for a second. "They're going to kill me tomorrow." 

“No they won’t.” Annie said bluntly. “I told them how it is. You don’t need to worry about anything.” 

“Told them how it is?” Gabi asked, her expression still nervous. 

“I let them know if they say anything else stupid I’d break their legs.” Gabi was almost afraid of that because she knew Annie was beyond capable of shattering bones. Annie showed her Muy Thai stuff sometimes. …But she was still mad at Bert and Reiner. 

“Make sure they can still do their chores so I don’t have to.” Annie smiled a genuine smile and laughed. 

“Sure thing, kiddo. They’ll still be able to do all their housework.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of me really wanted to write Bert and Reiner handling something badly and fucking up. All parents do it eventually and hurt their kids whether they mean to or not. Doesn't make it okay but it still happens. That was what I wanted to get across here.
> 
> None of my Annie ships work for this AU at all. My main one being annie/marcel, but, you know. You can be single and be plenty happy.
> 
> I liked writing Annie here. I'll probably do more eventually but I'm still catching up on requests hehe. I'll respond to comments and stuff later, too. I've been very tired and working a lot lately. ^^;
> 
> Requests are open again since I’m going on vacation soon. Also, if you’re the person who requested the canonverse pokkupikku requests I plan to do them and I know it’s been a while. I just haven’t really wanted to reread the manga chapters I’d need to to write it. Just thought I’d say so.


	33. First Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 13, Bert is 35

Gabi looked at herself in the mirror, frowning at her reflection. She looked pretty enough. Actually, she’d looked _really_ cute lately. And she was popular enough at school, no real issues. Liked by her peers, generally liked by the teachers too. Why hadn’t it happened yet? 

“Bert?” Gabi asked, stepping out of her personal bathroom. Reiner was upstairs working in his workroom, but she wasn’t sure there was a parent she’d prefer to talk to. Bertholdt hummed in acknowledgement, him reading a book about the Paradisan sea monster. It wasn’t real. Not like the Marleyan moth. “Can I ask you something?” 

“What is it?” Bertholdt looked up from his book, turning to meet Gabi’s eyes. “Something on your mind?” He took off his reading glasses and put them on the end table. 

“How old were you when you first kissed Reiner?” Bertholdt raised an eyebrow in confusion. What sort of question was that? Oh well. Innocent enough, he supposed. 

“I was fifteen, he was sixteen. That’s when we got together.” He closed the book he was reading and put it on the end table, leaning back into the couch. “Why’d you want to know that, Gabi? Just wondering?” 

“So you were fifteen when you had your first kiss?” Bertholdt looked at Gabi and blinked, then let out a small chuckle, shaking his head just a little bit. Gabi frowned a little in confusion at his reaction. 

“Reiner wasn’t my first kiss, dear…” Gabi’s eyes flew open in shock. What?! 

“What do you mean Reiner wasn’t your first kiss?!” Gabi asked incredulously. 

“I wasn’t Reiner’s first kiss either.” Gabi recoiled a little and moved to sit down on the couch next to Bert. Why did something just feel _off_ all of a sudden? 

“You loved someone else besides Reiner? How old were you?” Bertholdt shook his head and took a sip of his tea. 

“Kissing someone doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in love, Gabi. I liked this boy in my first year of high school, so I was about fourteen, and we kissed a couple of times. But he got jealous of how much time I spent with Reiner and we just broke up.” Bertholdt started scratching his chin hair, thinking back on his youth. “We never even made out, come to think of it… I guess Reiner’s the only person I’ve done that with.” 

“Who’d Reiner kiss?” Gabi had something else on her mind but curiosity was going to kill her if she didn’t get that question out of the way first. 

“Uh, I think it was some girl… Reiner was afraid of being gay and wanted to be straight but he told me I kissed way better than girls. Hehe, I felt so proud when he told me that.” Gabi made a face at the mental image of her parents sucking face and looked away from Bert. “Sorry, Gabi. Just reminiscing.” 

“So your first kiss wasn’t special?” Bertholdt let out a humming sound and grabbed the remote, turning on netflix and scrolling through the shows. 

“Hmm… not really. I remember feeling a little disappointed after the fact. My first kiss with Reiner felt way more special. Why’s kissing on your mind? Do you have someone special?” 

“No. I was just thinking is all.” Bertholdt knew she was lying. He could tell by her demeanor. But pulling an answer out of her wasn’t worth the hassle. She was a teenager. There were things she had to figure out on her own. “Thanks, Bert.” 

“No problem, Gabi.” Bertholdt sat and flipped through the channels. Huh. Kissing was on his mind now. He heard Gabi’s bedroom door close, him turning and looking at the stairs. Bertholdt grinned to himself and went up the stairs, making a beeline to Reiner’s workroom. 

  


Gabi leaned back into the bench, watching the water of the small lake ripple back and forth. It was getting a little late into the evening, the sun going down. Udo sat next to her, him kicking his legs back and forth. 

“It’s nice teaching someone my language. Thanks for being interested, Gabi.” She hummed and tossed some oats that she and Udo had bought at the store, the ducks and ducklings eating happily. 

_“It’s fun. Thanks, Udo.”_ Udo smiled at the sound of his language. He missed his home sometimes, but he quite liked this country his family had immigrated to. And he got to meet friends like Gabi and Falco and Zofia and Marcel. He’d been here for a few years now, in a few years he’d reach an age where he’d spent more of his life here than his original home. 

_“You’re welcome, Gabi.”_ The ducklings were so cute. They didn’t have pets at home but Gabi wished she could pick up the ducks and take them home. Bert and Reiner didn’t want animals at the house. Boo. Though Bert and Reiner had softened up at the idea of a pet chicken. _“Look at how cute the ducklings are.”_

_“Yeah. Really cute.”_ Gabi kicked her legs back and forth and closed her eyes. “Udo.” 

“Gabi?” He asked, taking his glasses off and wiping at the lens and putting them back on. 

“…I’ve been feeling a little down lately.” Udo looked at Gabi and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and smiled a little at the gesture. “I feel like… nobody wants to be with me. I don’t understand why. Am I not pretty?” 

“I didn’t know you wanted to have a boyfriend, Gabi.” Udo said, tossing more oats. He scowled and got up, shooing away a goose that ran up and started honking at the ducks. He sat back down next to Gabi when the goose was gone, the ducklings coming back after a minute. “You don’t seem very interested at school.” 

Gabi thought about it. A boyfriend? She wasn’t really sure that’s what she wanted. 

“I don’t know. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. I think I’m more self-conscious about feeling pretty enough.” Udo squeezed Gabi’s shoulder, turning and shooting a glare at the goose again. It turned and walked away. “I feel weird I guess? All my friends are getting boyfriends and girlfriends and having their first kisses and all. But I’m the same as always.” 

“Are you feeling weird because Falco kissed Kaya?” Udo asked bluntly, Gabi letting out a small hum at the question. She wasn’t even sure why. It wasn’t like she wanted to date Falco or anything. They were just friends. Maybe because Kaya was her friend too? 

“Maybe? I feel like I’m being left behind, almost. I feel like I’m supposed to have been kissed is all.” Gabi thought about it for a second. “Not by my parents. I guess I just feel… lame?” Udo was silent for a moment and looked at her. 

“Do you think I’m lame? I haven’t kissed anyone either.” Gabi frowned and looked at her friend, shaking her head. Udo wasn’t lame because he hasn’t kissed anyone. Of course not. 

“No, Udo. Why would I?” Udo shrugged his shoulders at Gabi. 

“Then why do you think that about yourself?” Udo asked, adjusting himself on the bench and tossing more oats. Gabi smiled for a brief moment at the tiny quacks. “I don’t understand. In my home the first kiss isn’t really that important.” 

“I guess I just want to feel like someone likes me.” Gabi sighed. But was there anyone she liked? 

Did it matter? Bert said his first kiss didn’t really feel special. Apparently Reiner kissed a girl and according to Bert, Reiner didn’t even care about her and just wanted to feel straight. That didn’t feel right to her. She wanted it to be special. Maybe she was hopeless. 

“I like you, Gabi.” Udo said, Gabi turning quickly and looking at him, her face hot and her brows a little furrowed. Udo realized the implication of what he said and shook his head. “Oh, uh… not like that! Sorry…” 

“It’s okay, Udo. I don’t think about you like that either.” Gabi scooted closer to him and let him pat her shoulder. The ducklings finished eating, the mama duck leading them all in a line back into the water. Reiner had texted her and let her know he’d be there in a few minutes to pick her up and bring her home. Tomorrow she was supposed to go out with Marcel. 

“This is nice. I always liked this pond. We didn’t have ponds like this back home.” Gabi hummed and listened to Udo talk. “My family came from a desert climate. Lots of trees and grass and ducks weren’t around like this. It’s pretty.” 

“Yeah. Hey, Udo…” Gabi started, fidgeting with her fingers. “Can, uh… can we kiss?” She fidgeted a little more and met his eyes, then glanced away. “I know I don’t like you like that. And you don’t like me like that…” 

Udo turned so they were looking directly at one another and swallowed. “W-why?” 

“I mean, I know… but you’re like one of my best best friends and I trust you is all. I don’t want my first kiss to be with some random person I’m going to forget about.” Gabi paused for a second and put her hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay if you don’t wanna…” 

“It’s okay, Gabi.” Udo put a hand on her cheek, Gabi moving a hand onto the nape of his neck. They stared for just a moment, Gabi taking the initiative and moving forward to kiss him. Udo blinked nervously and swallowed, then leaned forward and kissed her back. 

“…That was nice…” Gabi said, scooting forward to give Udo a hug. He hugged her back, then pulled away so they were sitting next to one another like they had been before. “Thanks, Udo.” 

“Yeah. That was nice.” Gabi scooted to the side and put her head on Udo’s shoulder. Udo smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. “Do you want to do anything this weekend? I know you and Marcel are going out tomorrow with your parents after school but are you busy Saturday?” 

“No. You know what’d be fun? We can go eat at that one restaurant. The one with food from your home country.” Udo grinned at that. He was happy his friend took an interest in his homeland. 

“I’d like that. Thanks, Gabi.” 

“Hmm. Thanks for being my friend, Udo.” Udo hummed and watched the water on the pond ripple with his friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Udo is supposed to be the same age as Gabi. I didn't want to put it at the top bc that'd spoil it a little.
> 
> First kisses don't have to be with boyfriends and girlfriends. I thought about doing it with Marcel and him being more teasing/messing with her about it but decided to go with Udo instead.
> 
> Requests are open again, since my vacation is coming up but I can't actually go out and do anything now. Oh well. Thanks!  
> I have a couple of requests still in that I plan on filling (if you've put one in I haven't done). Sometimes I get one that I have to think more about and decide how I want to write them is all. I haven't gotten anything I won't do eventually though!


	34. Terminal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for heavy, _heavy_ , soul-crushing, heart-shattering angst. And I'm here to deliver.
> 
> Reiner is 77, Bertholdt is 76

“The cancer isn’t responding to treatment. It’s… gotten worse. I’m afraid it’s terminal. I’m sorry. I’ll give you two a moment, okay?” The doctor ran her hand comfortingly along Reiner’s shoulder before closing the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone. 

Reiner stared down at the floor blankly and silently, but Bertholdt’s eyes immediately welled with tears, grinding his teeth and choking out a pained noise. Reiner turned to the side and pulled Bertholdt in for a hug, Bertholdt clutching tightly to him and crying into his shoulder. 

“It’s okay… It’s okay, Bertl…” Reiner said quietly, Bertholdt shaking his head against his shoulder. Reiner ran his hand up and down Bertholdt’s back while he held him. 

“It’s not okay! You’re going to die, don’t tell me it’s okay!” Bertholdt choked out, still holding his husband tightly. It wasn’t okay, Reiner was dying at the doctors couldn’t do a thing. 

“Bertl… I’m seventy-seven. We’re getting to the end of our lives. We have to die sooner or later.” Reiner sighed, Bertholdt feeling him shiver a little while he held him. Reiner squeezed Bertholdt tightly against him, running a hand through his hair. 

“I can’t live without you, Reiner… I can’t even imagine waking up without you by my side.” Bertholdt pulled away and looked at Reiner’s eyes. He swallowed and felt a pang of guilt. 

Reiner was the one dying, but he was the one crying and freaking out and ready to beg the doctor for information on experimental treatments. Reiner was the one who needed to be taken care of. He needed to be made comfortable. He probably didn’t even want to try some experimental treatment that probably wouldn’t even work. 

“I know, Bertl, I know.” Reiner said, stroking Bertholdt’s hair and bringing a hand up to wipe away the tears on Bertholdt’s cheeks. “It’s not that I’m okay with this, it’s just… I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Since they first found the cancer.” 

“I know. I was so afraid of this. I just kept hoping you’d pull through,” Bertholdt mumbled sadly against Reiner’s shoulder. “You’d always pulled through with everything else.” He felt the familiar pressure of a kiss being pressed to the top of his head. 

They sat together in silence for a moment, Reiner rocking them back and forth while he held his husband. The door opened, the doctor coming back inside after a few minutes. 

“Doctor… how long do I have left?” Reiner asked when she came back, the doctor looking at him. 

“That depends on a few things. If you continue with the treatment you’ve been undergoing you might have a little longer. But as of right now, I’d say… maybe six months?” Reiner could hear Bertholdt breathe deeply at that, exhaling through his nose. 

Their great-grandchild was due in five months. The first thing he could think was how desperately he just wanted to make it long enough to meet baby and see his Gabi get to be Grandma Gabi and Colt get to be dad. 

He squeezed Bertholdt’s hand tightly, running his thumb on the back of his hand. 

  


Reiner sat in the study, putting the photo paper into the printer and printing off the pictures. He nodded in satisfaction, taking the scissors and working on the scrapbook page. He smiled at the picture of baby Gabi and Bertholdt, her clutching his finger with her tiny hand. 

Bertholdt was sleeping in their bedroom. He spent so much time taking care of him. Reiner gave it some thought as he put together the page on the scrapbook, looking through that old shoebox that he kept under his side of the bed. Bertholdt had been spending every second he could with Reiner. He didn’t want to miss a moment when there were so few moments left. 

Reiner laughed and pulled out an old scrap of notebook paper with a poem Bertholdt had written for him when he went through that angst-filled phase as a teenager. He kept all the poems that Bertholdt had written for him over the years. He definitely got better; the poems Bertholdt wrote in their forties and fifties were his favorite. It was a wonderful time for them, and it showed in Bertholdt’s writing. 

Oh, this was one of his favorite pictures ever. Him and Bertholdt at the hospital with baby Colt. They’d been so excited when Gabi had told them she was pregnant and they loved Colt so much. And now his wife was due with their girl in just a couple of months. 

He was going to make it. He had to. Even if only once… he wanted to meet Eliza before he was gone. 

Reiner started feeling tired, the fatigue getting to him after a while of working on his book. He put everything up and underneath the desk where Bertholdt wouldn't find it. 

He slowly made his way to the bathroom, then to the bedroom. Bertholdt was asleep, his bizarre sleeping positions having tapered off as they got older. He missed it, truthfully. It was always endearing when Bertholdt would wake up with his ass in the air. 

Bertholdt didn’t stir when Reiner slid comfortably into bed beside him, wrapping his arms around his husband and spooning him. He nuzzled against Bertholdt’s back and thanked god for the wonderful husband he had by his side. 

  


Bertholdt shuffled around mindlessly by the front door, waiting for Gabi and Colt to stop by with Eliza. Their granddaughter Emily had stopped by earlier and had tea with him and Reiner, but she had to leave to go take care of some things she had to do with promises she’d be back by tomorrow after work. 

Reiner had gotten a lot worse. He was almost at the end, it was obvious. _Maybe_ a couple more days at best. He needed the oxygen tubes to help alleviate difficulty breathing. He barely ate, and had lost weight. Reiner’s skin was becoming cold and mottled. 

Still, keeping him comfortable was important. Thick socks, keeping him wrapped up in blankets, keeping his head elevated to help with breathing. Reiner kept telling him over and over how much he appreciated it all and how much he loved him. Bertholdt knew Reiner would have done the same for him. 

He opened the door quickly when he heard the knock, Gabi and Colt at the door with a tiny baby in Colt’s arms. Bertholdt smiled at the sight of his family, pulling Gabi into a hug and kissing her cheek. He gave a half-hug to Colt, accepting the baby when Colt handed her to him. 

“Hey, Bert. Sorry we didn’t get here sooner. Traffic, you know.” Gabi apologized, rubbing her arm and giving Bertholdt an apologetic look. Bertholdt shook his head, poking his great-granddaughter’s nose with his finger. 

“It’s okay, Gabi. We understand.” Bertholdt rocked the baby in his arms, motioning his head for the two of them to come in. Gabi closed the door behind her, the three of them moving to sit on the couch. “She’s beautiful, Colt. She has your eyes.” 

“Thanks, Grandpa Bert. She’s absolutely perfect.” Eliza blinked, Bertholdt gently running a finger along her black hair. She was beautiful. Like her daddy was, and his mommy. 

When they were in their forties Reiner would joke about Gabi making him feel old. If only they could see him now, seventy-six with Gabi’s granddaughter. 

“Bert. How’s Reiner doing?” Bertholdt sighed at his daughter’s question, Gabi biting her lip whenever Bertholdt gave her a look that answered her question more than any string of words could. Her lip trembled, Colt reaching over and running a hand on her back. “We’re staying for a few days. I want to see him as much as I can.” 

“I know, sweetheart. Let’s take Eliza to meet Grandpa Reiner.” Bertholdt stood, looking at the happy bundle in his arms. Plump little cheeks, rosy in color. Fluffy black hair and light eyes. He knocked on the door, opening it. Reiner was looking through a scrapbook Karina had made decades ago. “Hey Grandpa Reiner, look who’s come to meet you.” 

Reiner smiled and put the book down, closing his eyes in discomfort. He straightened himself out, leaning back against the headboard. 

“Hey, Colt. Hey, Gabi.” Reiner smiled a warm smile when Bertholdt handed Eliza to him, him immediately rocking her back and forth. “Hey, cutie.” 

Gabi crossed the room and went to Reiner’s side, giving a kiss to Reiner’s cheek and getting a pleased hum from him in response. “I love you, Reiner.” 

“I love you too, sweetheart.” Colt crossed the room and hugged Reiner, looking down at his daughter. “And you. Even if you don’t want me kissing you anymore.” Reiner joked, but Colt only shook his head and kissed Reiner’s cheek. Reiner laughed and leaned his head against Colt’s shoulder. 

Eliza met Reiner’s eyes and smiled, opening her mouth and laughing. Reiner smiled back, holding her close to him. He’d never get tired of the feeling of holding his sweet babies close to him. Eliza yawned and closed her eyes, Reiner absolutely enamored by her. 

“Reiner, we were thinking tomorrow if you were feeling up to it we could watch some movies together. Falco is going to be off work and can come over.” Gabi said, moving to sit on the bed next to him. Reiner handed Eliza back to Colt and leaned back. He put a hand on Gabi’s shoulder and gave her a weak grin. 

“Of course, sweetheart. It’ll always be fine for you to come here. I’ve been telling you that since you moved out to go to college, and when you moved out the second time. It isn’t going to change.” Gabi smiled and leaned her head against Reiner’s shoulder. 

She wanted to frown because his skin felt too cold. 

“Hey, let’s get a picture of Grandpa Reiner with his favorite great-granddaughter.” Colt said, getting out his phone. “If that’s okay with him.” 

“Of course that’s okay. Be sure to get my good side, hehe…” Reiner shivered, his body hurting. He was tired. So tired. But he didn’t want to sleep. He wanted every second he could get with his family. Instead he smiled wide for the picture of him and Eliza, then for a couple more with his family. 

  


Bertholdt drank a glass of water, running a hand through his hair. Colt and Eliza stayed for a while, but eventually they had to leave. They were close by and would be back in the morning. Gabi was resting in the guest bedroom, having stayed up late with Reiner. Gabi wanted to watch _The Lion King_ with Reiner again in the morning. A little childish? Maybe. Reiner hadn’t minded at all. 

He tiredly walked back to his bedroom, biting his lip when he heard Reiner’s noisy breathing. He flew across the room when Reiner stopped breathing for a few moments, him eventually making the sound of a death rattle. Bertholdt pulled the chair by the bed up, sitting next to Reiner and taking one of his hands into his own. 

It was too cold. 

“Reiner. It’s okay. I’m here.” Bertholdt said quietly, taking his other hand and running it through Reiner’s gray hairs. He moved and pressed a kiss to Reiner’s temple. 

Too cold. 

Reiner’s breathing was labored. Bertholdt’s heart broke. 

“I’m here. I love you. Gabi loves you, and Falco too. And our Colt and Emily. And you met little Eliza today. I’ll tell her so many stories about you. She’ll love you too. She’ll know how much Grandpa Reiner loved her.” Bertholdt kissed Reiner’s forehead. “I hope you know how much I love you. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world for sixty years.” 

Reiner was shivering. Bertholdt wasn’t sure if he felt cold. Or if he was hurting, or if he could even hear what he was saying. It didn’t matter. Bertholdt squeezed Reiner’s hand. 

“You were always so strong, Reiner. When you came out, when we got Gabi. And the whole time we raised our daughter. Every time she needed help you went running. You wanted to help her.” Bertholdt felt his eyes start to burn. “It’s okay, Reiner. Our baby’s grown up. Her babies are grown up. If… if you’re tired of being strong, you can let go.” 

He kissed Reiner’s cheek again, then kissed his knuckles. “It’s okay, Reiner. It’s okay. I’ll take care of Gabi and Colt and Emily and Eliza. I’m here. I love you. If you’re tired I won’t be mad if you let go. If you need rest… rest.” Bertholdt’s eyes started leaking, him exhaling deeply. “I love you. I love you so much.” 

Bertholdt kissed Reiner’s lips, tears dripping down onto his face. Bertholdt sobbed and held Reiner’s hand tightly. After a couple of minutes he stopped sobbing, watching Reiner closely. 

His chest wasn’t moving with his breaths anymore. Bertholdt’s heart dropped, him watching closely and noticing Reiner had stopped breathing all together. 

Bertholdt swallowed, feeling his eyes burn again. He leaned over and pressed his lips to Reiner’s one last time. “I love you. I always will. I’m… I’m going to miss you so much. I’ll see you again one day. Just wait for me.” 

He breathed deeply, grinding his teeth and wiping at his eyes. He knocked on Gabi’s door, her looking nervous when she opened the door. Bert’s wet face confirmed her fears, Gabi burying her face into Bert’s chest and sobbing while he cried and stroked her hair. 

  


They were eight and nine when they met. They were seventy-six and seventy-seven when Reiner died. That gave them sixty-eight years together. Almost seven decades. Bertholdt felt it was selfish to desperately wish they got more time together. But they’d spent decades together in their home. Now it just felt so empty. 

Colt and his wife were moving back soon. They wanted to raise Eliza with her family around. Gabi came and saw him more than before Reiner died, but Bertholdt still found himself so lonely. He didn’t want to do anything anymore. He just wanted his Reiner back. 

Waking up to an empty bed never got easier. Reiner’s books were undisturbed on his nightstand where they were months ago when he died. Bertholdt couldn’t bring himself to move them. 

Bertholdt climbed the stairs in his home, sitting on his chair in the study and glancing at the empty chair next to it. He loved sitting in silence with Reiner, the two of them reading their books in their laps and holding their fingers together in the space between the chairs. After Gabi moved out, it was a nightly thing for them for years and years to come. Even after Reiner was diagnosed with cancer it was one of their favorite rituals. 

The room was mostly the same as it had always been. Not that he had spent much time in here since Reiner died. It hurt too much. 

Something shiny caught his eye. Bertholdt looked at the shelf where they had always kept all their scrapbooks and sentimental things. _The Gabi Book_ was there, along with the sequels he and Reiner made for their grandbabies, _The Colt Book_ and _The Emily Book._ Emilia’s pregnancy journal was there. Gabi had asked Bertholdt and Reiner to hold onto her own little pregnancy journals for safekeeping. Karina’s old scrapbooks were there. And something on the end Bertholdt didn’t remember putting there. 

He stood up, pulling it out of the shelf. It was wrapped up in shiny gift wrap like a present, Bertholdt noting the bow that was taped on. 

Reiner always did like bows. There was a little tag on the side. 

_To: My Bertl <3_ _From: Reiner! :)_

Bertholdt smiled at the little heart and smiley face that Reiner drew on the tag. He tore open the wrapping paper, finding a scrapbook he had never seen before. He tossed the wrapping paper aside into Reiner’s chair, looking at the title of it. _Us._

Bertholdt opened up the scrapbook, finding a faded old photograph from the summer camp they had met at. He and all the other Warriors were in the group shot. Bertholdt laughed at how excited they all looked and how bored Zeke looked beside them. 

Bertholdt turned the page, finding pictures of the two of them in elementary school, then middle school. Reiner had carefully decorated each page, putting in a couple of notes alongside some of the pictures. 

A laugh when Bertholdt turned to a page where Reiner had put their high school pictures side-by-side. He wanted to be embarrassed by the picture from his third year, when he had gone through his emo phase. Or the picture his senior year, when he had transitioned into the punk phase, complete with snakebites and eyebrow piercings. What was it Gabi had called him after that? An art hoe? 

Oh, these pictures were at that little apartment they got when he and Reiner first moved in together. Bertholdt laughed when he saw that Reiner had cut up and glued into the book their original lease agreement. They must’ve put it in a folder and forgotten about it until Reiner found it. Reiner wrote in a note about how excited he was that it was _official_ that they moved in together. 

Pictures of Gabi started appearing, the two of them laughing with her in most of them. They looked so happy in all the pictures. Bertholdt smiled. They always were, no matter how much trouble she caused they were happy with her. 

Their wedding. There were lots of pictures in there from the wedding. A sweet picture of Bertholdt and Gabi during their father-daughter dance drew a smile. The two of them in their tuxedos. There was a candid shot of both of them looking absolutely humiliated. Must’ve been taken in the middle of Porco giving his speech. _Why_ Reiner put that in was beyond Bertholdt’s comprehension. A couple of flowers from their wedding that Reiner had pressed and preserved were inside. 

They got older as he flipped through all the pages of memories of his life with Reiner. Gabi grew up. There was a picture of him graduating and getting his master’s degree, Gabi having snatched his diploma. Pictures of them at Gabi’s wedding. Gabi’s first pregnancy with Colt, her second with Emily. Their grandchildren grew up. The grandbabies were easier. Reiner had a habit of giving them back to their parents when he didn’t want to deal with gross stuff or crying. He'd told Falco once that he did his time dealing with crying babies. 

Bertholdt inched towards the end, but they still looked happy as ever in the pictures of them together. Reiner’s hair turned gray but Bertholdt’s stayed black, though Bertholdt’s chin hair went from salt-and-pepper to salt until he shaved it off. Reiner said he missed the beard but didn’t miss the beard burn after Bertholdt would nuzzle him. 

His chest tightened when he reached the end, getting to the last page. The last picture was a picture of the two of them; it looked like it was taken sometime in their late forties. They were sitting at a table, their foreheads pressed against one another while they looked at each other’s eyes. Their hands were on the table, their fingers threaded together. They were both blushing like lovestruck teenagers, smiles on their faces. It was an intimate picture where they thought they were alone. 

What a sweet picture. A candid photo, clearly. Probably taken by either Gabi or Karina. If Reiner put it last it was probably his favorite one. 

There was a little note written on the bottom of the last page. Bertholdt furrowed his brows and read the last note. 

_Thank you so much for giving me such a good life, my Bertl. Now do me a favor and go live the rest of yours!_ _Love, always. –Reiner_

Bertholdt smiled, feeling tears drip down his face. He turned to look at Reiner’s chair, resting his hand on the end of Reiner’s arm rest. He could almost feel Reiner’s hand moving to hold his like he always did. He closed the book and pulled it to his chest, hugging it and smiling genuinely for the first time in forever. 

  


Bertholdt stretched out his arms, his back a little sore. He’d spent the day at the library, as he usually did on weekday afternoons. He was the kid’s favorite volunteer; they looked forward to story time with Grandpa Bert, when he’d let the young children pick out books that he’d read to them. If they didn’t want to read he was always fine playing with the puppets and toys with them. 

But now that he was home he got to spend time with his favorite kid. Colt lived close by, closer than Gabi did. Eliza would come over sometimes so he and his wife could have some time together. And tonight Colt had stopped by, dropping off Eliza. 

She was growing like a little weed. Already six years old. She took after her mother and Gabi, though. She was still small enough for him to hold and cuddle. 

“Grandpa Bert!” Eliza ran in circles around him, making her way to the kitchen. He followed after her, her climbing into the chair and sitting at the table. “Can I have some juice?” 

“Of course you can, dear.” Bertholdt got a juice box from the fridge and gave it to her, her stabbing the straw in and drinking it. “I made you some macaroni and cheese because I knew you were coming over tonight. It was your daddy's favorite.” Eliza smiled and clapped her hands together. 

“Yay!” Bertholdt got up and grabbed the macaroni from the fridge, warming up some for her and some for himself. He put the macaroni on her plate, her tearing into it ravenously. Bertholdt smiled and watched her fondly. “Grandpa Bert?” 

“Hmm?” Eliza looked at him, Bertholdt mesmerized by her cute eyes. She looked so much like her daddy. Eliza finished her juice box, Bertholdt getting her another. 

“What was Grandpa Reiner like? Daddy was talking about him a lot a couple of days ago. He said he missed him.” Eliza asked, looking at him curiously. Bertholdt laughed and smiled, reaching over and rubbing the top of her head affectionately. 

“Grandpa Reiner was really funny and he loved his family so much. Even you.” Eliza tilted her head to the side slightly. 

“But I never met Grandpa Reiner.” Bertholdt motioned for her to follow him after they finished their food, her running up the stairs and past him while he ascended slowly. He opened the door to their old study, going and grabbing his favorite scrapbook and a framed picture off a shelf. He got cozy in his chair, patting Reiner’s chair and prompting Eliza to sit down in it. 

“See this picture of Grandpa Reiner? That baby is you.” Eliza took the picture and looked at it. Reiner looked so genuinely happy, cradling her close to him. Bertholdt couldn’t believe looking at the picture that Reiner died less than twelve hours later. He wanted to meet her so bad. Maybe he was finally able to let go when he did. “But he’d love you even if he never did meet you. He loved everyone in his family.” 

“What’s that book?” Eliza asked, climbing over the edge of Reiner’s chair and crawling to sit next to Bertholdt. She settled herself, Bertholdt kissing the top of her head. 

“This is my favorite book. Grandpa Reiner named it _Us_ because it's about me and him. He made it for me before he went to Heaven.” Bertholdt opened up the book to the first page. “This is me when I was eight, and there’s Grandpa Reiner when he was nine.” 

“Wow! You were a kid once?” Eliza asked in surprise, Bertholdt laughing against her. “And Grandpa Reiner too!” 

“I have pictures of Grandma Gabi and your daddy and Aunt Emily as babies, too.” Bertholdt flipped through the book with his great-granddaughter. She was enamored with the pictures of her daddy as a baby. Eliza listened carefully to the stories about Grandpa Reiner. “Grandpa Bert?” 

“Yes, darling?” Eliza looked at Bertholdt with inquisitive eyes. 

“Do you miss Grandpa Reiner?” Bertholdt looked back at her, nodding his head. 

“Yes. I miss him a lot. But I think about him every day and thinking about him makes me happy.” Eliza nodded, looking at the pictures of her family. Part of her wondered what it was like to play with Grandpa Bert the way she plays with her daddy. 

“Do you think Grandpa Reiner misses you too?” Bertholdt chewed the inside of his cheek. She was asking some heavy questions. Kids could do that. He remembered Gabi doing the same as a child about his own father. 

“Yes. But it was his time to go. I’m sure he misses me, and Grandma Gabi, and your daddy and Aunt Emily. You know who else I think he misses?” Eliza shook her head, Bertholdt poking her nose with his finger. “You!” 

“Really?” Eliza asked, her eyes widening. 

“Mhmm. Who couldn’t miss a girl like you?” Eliza laughed and leaned back into Bertholdt’s chest. He put down the book on the small end table by his chair, pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheeks. 

“Welllll, I guess you’re right, I’m really fun!” Bertholdt started to stand, him putting the book and the picture of Reiner back. Eliza followed him, buzzing around him with energy he remembered Gabi barreling around the house with. 

“You are really fun. Let’s go for a walk outside, sweetheart. Maybe we can get some ice cream later.” 

“Really? Can we get ice cream then go for a walk? Pleeeeaaaaase?” Bertholdt was suddenly stricken with a memory of Gabi asking if they could pleeeeeaaaase get ice cream first, then they would go do whatever it was he wanted to do. He was ready to say no until Reiner gave the puppy-dog eyes alongside her. Reiner giving the puppy dog eyes was one of his only weaknesses. 

“…I guess we could go get ice cream first. Let’s go.” Bertholdt took her hand and walked out the door, smiling at the picture of him and Reiner by the door on the way out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one made me so sad to write because I tried to think of what the saddest thing I could do with this AU was. And "death of one of the parents" is what came to mind. I haven't thought too much about what the long-term future would look like for all the characters, but I thought Gabi would marry Falco and have two kids. Beyond that wouldn't matter because I don't have any real intention on writing reibert as grandparents.
> 
> Thanks for the request! :)


	35. Dr. Galliard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for teenage Gabi and Marcel catching pokkupikku in the act. 
> 
> Marcel is 16, Gabi is 14, Pieck is 37, Porco is 36

When he was a teenager he thought curfews and check-ins were all so stupid. Thought everything his parents told him was just because they were being assholes. He’d even gone so far as to think they were only being strict on him because they were mad he was alive and Marcel was dead. 

But now Porco understood. And he couldn’t help but feel frustrated that Marcel was clearly annoyed with his request to just check in every couple of hours so that they knew he was safe. Maybe he deserved it for giving his parents the same attitude his son was giving him. Gabi was mindlessly texting on her phone next to him, Bertholdt and Reiner having dropped her off to stay with them for the weekend and a couple of days after while they went out of town. Reiner apparently wanted to go to an expo of some sort but couldn’t convince Gabi it’d be fun. 

“If you want to take out your car you’re going to text me every hour and a half, and I want you home by midnight. That’s way more than generous.” Porco said, his arms crossed. Marcel didn’t look amused but he saw the keys to his car on the hook behind his dad’s head. He couldn’t appeal to his mom because he knew she would fully agree with his dad. 

“I can’t text you during the movie, dad.” Marcel said bluntly. Porco wanted to frown but didn’t. Gabi glanced over at Marcel, then to Porco. 

“Just tell me when you’re at the theater, then. And when the movie’s over. And if it was any good.” Porco gave his son a smile, Gabi giving Porco a half-smile when he looked at her. “Come on, son. You know I’m less strict than lots of parents are.” 

“Ain’t that the truth…” Gabi mumbled under her breath. Porco raised a brow but ignored the comment. He reached behind him and grabbed the keys, handing them over to his son. Marcel put them in his pocket and looked at his dad. 

“Thanks, dad. I’ll text you. We’re going to eat with our friends and then we’re seeing the 9:45 movie.” Porco reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet, pulling out some bills and handing them to his son. Gabi looked surprised at the amount of money that Porco handed his son, Porco noticing and giving her a cheeky smile. 

“Hey, now… you didn’t think I was going to make you guys use your own money to go eat and watch movies, did you? Give me a little more credit than that.” Porco laughed and crossed his arms, thinking back to his childhood. “I want you two to have fun. Don’t get into too much trouble. I’ll see you two in a few hours.” 

“Bye, dad.” Marcel waved at Porco and went out the door, followed by Gabi. She gave a small wave to him on her way out, Marcel locking the door behind him. Porco heard the car start, then drive away. He felt a little old. His baby boy was driving now. Soon he’d be finishing high school and moving away to go to college. Maybe he and Pieck should’ve had another. 

About an hour later, he heard a car pull into the driveway, followed by familiar jingling of keys outside the door. Porco smiled wide at the sight of his wife in the doorway, her turning around and locking the door before hanging up her keys on the hook. Porco crossed the room quickly and scooped her up, Pieck squeaking when he picked her up bridal-style. 

A relaxed smile crossed Pieck’s face, her closing her eyes and relaxing while Porco carried her to the living room. “Hello, Pock…” He sat down on the couch, still holding her. He kissed her cheek, Pieck giving him a peck in return. “Sorry I’m late getting home, but we’re almost done with this study. It’s so close to being published I can feel it.” 

“It’s okay, Pieck. Go out there and do all the research you need and go save lives. You know I’ll be here when you’re done.” Porco leaned back into the couch and let go of his wife, her moving to sit next to him on the couch. “Marcel went out with Gabi to go eat with their friends and to watch that new movie with her.” 

“Sounds fun. I miss going out and doing things like that with all our friends.” 

“You know Bertl and Reiner and Annie are willing to go out. We can do that sometime.” Porco kissed Pieck’s cheek and stood up, the two of them making their way to the kitchen. Porco started warming up some leftovers and made their dinner. “But right now I just want to spend my time with you.” 

“Oh, piggy. You’re sweet.” Pieck and Porco talked about her research, about Marcel, and about how their boy was growing up while they ate. They cleaned up their mess and went to the living room, relaxing on the couch together and catching up on their favorite show. Porco could’ve watched it without her but he liked watching with Pieck. She liked him guessing what was going to happen next and he liked the little hums she made when she correctly guessed what was going to happen. 

Sure enough, once an hour Marcel sent a text letting him know they were fine. Well… it was more Marcel taking really bad pictures of Gabi once an hour, in one case telling him to send it to Bert and Reiner because it’d annoy Gabi. 

“Hey, Pock? What time was the movie that Marcel wanted to see supposed to start?” Pieck asked. The show they’d watched together was ending, her resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes while she listened to the music coming from the credits. 

“It’s supposed to start at 9:45. So it’ll probably be over around 11:15. I told Marcel to be home by midnight but you know him. He’ll be here at 12:30 and say there was traffic.” Porco’s tone of voice sounded a little frustrated there at the end. “He sent me a picture of Gabi sneezing a few minutes ago.” 

“So we’ve got about three hours until they’ll be home.” Pieck stood, Porco raising a brow when she did so. She turned to look at him and gave him a smile. “Stay there, Pock.” Porco shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into the couch. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander. Marcel would be moving out in two years. That… made him sad. “Sir?” 

Porco opened his eyes in confusion, finding Pieck standing there in the naughty nurse costume they’d bought for Halloween a couple of years ago and a white lab coat. “It’s been a while since you’ve had a checkup. I’m going to have to do a full-body exam.” Pieck put on some of her latex gloves and sat on his lap. _That_ made him happy. 

A sultry grin crossed Porco’s face. “Oh, doctor… I haven’t been feeling well lately, can you help me?” 

  


“I _told you_ we should’ve bought tickets in advance! For someone who’s supposed to be a genius you’re a pretty big idiot.” Gabi complained, her arms crossed while she leaned against the window of the car. “And Udo and Falco already went home because they didn’t want to see the movie. Christ.” 

“Shut up, Gabi. Like you ever buy tickets in advance, you just wanna be right.” Gabi rolled her eyes while the scenery passed by as Marcel drove. 

“Bert buys tickets in advance.” Marcel shook his head in frustration. 

“Yeah, and dad likes the air freshener in mom’s car. See? I can say irrelevant things too.” Marcel took a breath in and sighed. “Look. I’m sorry. I knew it was a popular movie on Saturday night. Let’s just think of something fun we can do at home. I don’t want to be in a crowded place right now anyways.” 

“That’s fine. I don’t mind avoiding crowds.” Gabi glanced down at the text message she’d just gotten. Bert sent her a selfie he took of him and Reiner. God, they were such dorks. She couldn’t help but smile at it, her teasing him with her reply. “What do you want to do?” 

“Uh, if Falco went home, how about we see if he and Zofia are down to play something with us? We could play smash or battle our pokemon. Or you and I could just play games together.” 

“That sounds like fun. Hey, can we stop and get something from a drive-thru? If your mom and dad are expecting us to be gone they probably didn’t cook anything for us.” Marcel nodded. She was right. The two of them got some food, Gabi starting to eat her fries while they drove. “Hey. Did you do that biology homework?” A scoff from Marcel. 

“You know I don’t do homework. I get good enough grades on tests and the work we do in class.” Gabi rolled her eyes. Showoff. 

“Well can you help me with it, then? I asked Mr. Berner for help but when he explained it I still didn’t understand.” Marcel glanced at Gabi and then looked back at the road. “Udo isn’t taking biology right now or I’d ask him.” 

“Aww. Gabi wants to spend time with Udo. But yeah that’s fine. Maybe in the morning. I just want to play games tonight since we can’t see the movie. Do we need to stop by your house to get anything?” Gabi shook her head, them driving by Gabi’s house when they drove through the neighborhood. Bert’s SUV sat alone in the driveway. They'd taken Reiner's car to the expo. 

It only took a minute after driving by Gabi’s house to get to Marcel’s house. Marcel reached to turn the car off, Gabi swatting his hand away from the key after he parked. “I like this song! Come on.” Marcel rolled his eyes and leaned his seat back, listening to the garbage song that was on while Gabi sang along. He slyly turned the camera on his phone towards her and started recording, then sent the video to Bert and Reiner. And Falco. Gabi’d kill him later but it was fine. He lived a good life. 

  


Porco kept kissing Pieck’s neck, her giving him a kiss to the temple. “You’re in excellent health, your stamina and strength are impeccable.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Galliard… I’m feeling so much better already…” Porco adjusted a little so he was more comfortable, then closed his eyes again. He let himself relax, his skin feeling cold when Pieck pushed the stethoscope against his chest again. 

Both of them immediately froze when the front door flew open suddenly, Gabi running in with an angry expression on her face. “I can’t believe you sent that to…” 

“Come on, it was just your parents and Falco!” Marcel walked after Gabi, her face beet red while she was frozen in place. He turned to look at the couch, his mom wrapped up in the throw blanket and a nurse hat on her head. …Was his mom sitting on his dad’s lap? And they looked awkward and embarrassed... Marcel’s eyes widened in realization. “What the fuck!?” 

“Marcel, uh… go to your room.” Pieck said, Porco completely motionless with a horrified expression on his face. His mouth hung open but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Gabi put a hand up and covered her eyes, walking away slowly towards Marcel’s room while he stood, mortified. After the longest moment in the history of the universe Marcel turned on his heel and walked away quickly, passing Gabi up on his way to his room. “Shit.” 

“Why are they home?” Porco and Pieck immediately made a beeline to their room, getting themselves dressed in their pajamas. They were supposed to have like three more hours! And as much stamina as Porco had, he wasn’t ever going to take that long! “…Guess we need to have a talk with Gabi and Marcel.” 

“Bertl and Reiner are gonna be pissed…” Pieck said a little nervously. Porco shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. 

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure Bertl said that Gabi walked in on them once… she was just really young and forgot about it.” Pieck buried her hands in her face and composed herself. Marcel was sixteen. He wasn’t going to just forget. “I guess we should go talk to them. Make sure they’re okay. I’ll text Reiner and let him know what happened. I want them to hear it from us, not Gabi.” 

“Yeah, go ahead and do that. Let’s go.” The two of them made their way up the stairs to Marcel’s room, him covering his face with a pillow while Gabi sat cross-legged at the end of his bed. Gabi glanced over at them, her averting her eyes and her face flushing. “Marcel. Gabi.” 

“ _God,_ mom, can you just go?” Marcel said, his words coming out awkwardly. Porco glanced down at his wife and chewed his lip. 

“Marcel, you know that sex is part of married couple’s relationships, and-” Marcel kept his eyes closed tight but pulled the pillow down to his belly. 

“Mom, stop! You’ve ruined the couch!” He opened his eyes and gave his parents an angry look. “I’m not going to be able to sit in the living room anymore knowing you’ve defiled it!” 

“Don’t raise your voice at your mother.” Porco said sternly. “You need to be mature about this. Adults have sex. Married people have sex.” 

“On the couch? Why?” Pieck put her hands over her face, unsure of what to say in response to her son’s question. 

“If you can’t be in the living room because your mother and I had sex there then you’re going to be stuck in here because it’s the only place in this house that-” Pieck elbowed her husband quickly and shot a glare at him, him wincing at the feeling. Whatever she would’ve said, it wouldn’t have been _that_. 

“Pock, stop!” Pieck snapped, her eyes drifting to Gabi. She was fidgeting awkwardly and her face was pink. She shook her head and looked back at her son. “We just wanted to make sure you were okay. I don’t want to talk about this. You two don’t want to talk about this. Porco doesn’t want to talk about this. So we’re not going to. Let’s just move on from it.” Pieck ran her fingers through her hair. “I’ve been working all day. I’m going to sleep.” At that, Pieck turned around and left, Porco looking awkwardly at the two teenagers in the room. 

“Uh… I’m agreeing with your mother. I don’t want to talk. Good night. I, um… I love you two. See you in the morning?” Porco left quickly and unintentionally slammed the door shut behind him, Marcel shaking his head and looking at Gabi with tired eyes. 

“I hope you know that every time you mess with me for the next like, month probably, I’m going to bring this up.” Gabi said bluntly, Marcel groaning and leaning back into his bed. 

  


Mr. Berner laid down the graded homework in front of Marcel, him grabbing it and looking at the grade on top. One hundred. No surprise there. The biology homework was cake. He heard a groan next to him, Gabi getting her homework back. A seventy-five. Not bad. But she’d worked harder on it than he did. 

“Your overall grade has improved a bit since all those zeroes have turned into one hundreds, Marcel.” Mr. Berner said matter-of-factly to him. “I know you have potential. I’d like to see you doing your work the way you have been lately.” 

“Yeah… thanks.” Marcel tucked the homework into the back of his textbook. He’d throw it away later but for now he’d hold onto it. Maybe Gabi’d want it so she could see what she did wrong. He didn’t need it to study for the tests later anyways. 

“Marcel.” Gabi poked his arm with her pencil whenever Mr. Berner finished lecturing on the division of sex cells and how meiosis and mitosis were similar but at the same time very different processes. His mind was wandering a lot. “Help me.” 

“I wanna daydream, just ask Mr. Berner…” Marcel said, crossing his arms and putting his head down on his desk. Gabi poked him with her pencil again, Marcel turning his head and looking at her in irritation. “It isn’t even that hard, just read your book…” 

“Maybe I should ask your mom. She knows a lot about _sex_ cells doesn’t she?” Marcel shot Gabi the dirtiest look he’d ever given her and if they weren’t in public he’d have tackled her. 

When she brought it up again at her house he _did_ tackle her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt like whiplash after last chapter.
> 
> I have a request for this AU I'm going to try my hand at drawing instead of writing because I'm not sure how to write it. We'll see! If I can't do it justice though I'll just write it.  
> I'm running low on requests, feel free to add more to the request box. Doesn't have to be for this AU but I do like requests for this AU. :)


	36. Animal Crossing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew this at work in my notebook but I'm still trying to figure out how to use clip studio paint.  
> Reiner is a kangaroo with a jock personality, Bertholdt is a bear with a smug personality, and Gabi is a kangaroo with an uchi personality!
> 
> Bertholdt keeps fruit pouches in his bag.


	37. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I commissioned the wonderful and lovely [LostOpium](https://twitter.com/LostOpium) to draw my loves. :)  
> Go show them some love pls.
> 
> (posted w/permission)


	38. Another World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 6, 10, 15

“Daddy, what’s my brother’s name going to be?” Gabi asked, trailing behind her father while he walked into the kitchen of their home. Oskar turned around and looked down at his daughter, giving her a smile. He reached into the cupboard and grabbed a can of spaghetti and meatballs. He’d come in to get himself a snack but he may as well feed his daughter. 

“His name is going to be Reiner.” Gabi watched her father open the can of food and put it into the microwave. Gabi opened the fridge and grabbed a juice box, then started to drink it. 

“Why?” Gabi asked. Oskar bit the inside of his lip at the question. If he had a dollar for every time Gabi had asked him that question, he would be able to pay off the mortgage three times over. Hopefully it wouldn’t turn into an endless stream of ‘why’ over and over again when he answered. 

“Your brother is going to be named after your cousin. He was named Reiner.” Oskar said plainly. Emilia was asleep in the bedroom; she was eight months along now, and it was getting harder for her to get around. Now she just wanted to rest, and he was more than willing to accommodate. 

“Where did Reiner go?” Oskar put the food on the table and gave Gabi a napkin and fork. She started eating immediately, Oskar smiling at her cute face being stained with spaghetti sauce. 

“Reiner died, sweetie. But you spent a lot of time with him when you were a baby.” Oskar thought back to his daughter laughing while Reiner played with her and chuckled to himself. Reiner loved blowing raspberries onto Gabi’s tummy and listening to her laugh. 

She’d just barely been one whenever Reiner and Bertholdt got into that accident. On their way back home from the airport, back from their honeymoon. So terribly sad. 

“Really? I don’t remember. When is Reiner coming back?” Gabi asked. Oskar fidgeted with his fingers under the table and shook his head. What a difficult conversation to have, and Gabi was too young to really understand all that happened. 

“People don’t come back when they die, Gabi. Reiner is gone.” Oskar smiled at Gabi and reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I can tell you some stories about him, if you want.” Gabi blinked at him, then shook her head. 

“No, that’s fine. I want to go play with my dolls.” His heart hurt at the answer. Gabi didn’t seem to care. He shook his head and went to clean the dirtied bowl whenever she finished, then went to sit down in his unborn son’s nursery. 

A small pile of stuffed animals that Bertholdt and Reiner gave to them for Gabi sat in the corner. Gabi had long grown out of them, but surely baby Reiner would love them just as she had. Oskar closed his eyes and rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, him thinking about his children with a smile on his face. 

  


“I’m so jealous of Reiner. Why did he get blond hair, and mine is black? Both you and dad have black hair too!” Gabi complained. Her mother laughed while she braided Gabi’s hair. 

“Yes, but you know Aunt Karina has blonde hair. Your cousin Reiner did too.” Emilia finished up the last braid and looked at her daughter’s hair in satisfaction. Gabi turned around and looked at her mother. 

“Mom?” Emilia raised her brows and waited for her daughter to go on. “What happened to Bertholdt and Reiner? You and dad talk about them sometimes, and you named my brother after my cousin. But Aunt Karina doesn’t talk about her own son at all.” 

“Aunt Karina gets too sad whenever she talks about Reiner and Bertholdt. So she doesn’t very often. I think she’s still heartbroken. A parent should never have to bury their own child…” 

“Were they sick?” Emilia shook her head and walked with Gabi back to the living room. The two of them sat down. Oskar and Reiner were in the backyard playing with one another. Gabi wasn’t in the mood to run around right now, instead preferring to relax after a long week of middle school. 

“No. Their car was hit by a drunk driver. Both of them died on impact.” Emilia fidgeted with her fingers and them glanced over at her daughter. “They loved you. You know that stuffed dolphin on your shelf was from them. They’d gone to the beach for their honeymoon and got you some stuffed sea animals as gifts.” 

“I wish I remembered them. You and dad make them sound like they were fun.” Gabi said, leaning back into the couch. She mindlessly scrolled through the channels on TV, glancing over for a moment whenever her mother stood and went to her room. She shrugged her shoulders, but Emilia came back quickly. 

“I had a lot of pictures of you and Reiner and Bertholdt. About three years after they died, Aunt Karina made a little photo album of them and you.” Gabi took the small photo album from her mother and opened it. A blond man she recognized to be her cousin was smiling widely, him holding a tiny baby. “This was the first time you met. You were only three hours old here.” 

“Why is he dressed so nice? Bertholdt too?” Emilia laughed and shook her head, smiling fondly at the silly memory. 

“Reiner and Bertholdt said first impressions were very important so they put on button-up shirts and ties to meet you.” Gabi smiled at that, then laughed at the next picture. They looked confused, and she was clearly crying. “They got better at handling you pretty quickly.” 

There were lots of pictures of Bertholdt and Reiner cradling her in their arms, but once she was a couple of months old there were more pictures of her playing with them. 

“They lived right across town, so they were over all the time to see you. They loved you. And since they both worked, they spoiled you rotten. They bought so many toys.” Emilia stretched her arms out. “Most of the toys that little Reiner had were bought for you by big Reiner and his husband.” 

“I wonder what they’d be like if they were still here?” It made her sad to reach the end of the book so quickly. She was just a baby when they died, but she had wanted to see more memories of them all together. 

“Spoiling you and your brother, I’m sure.” Emilia replied with a small laugh. “Hey, I want to show you something. I never showed you before but I think you’ll like it.” 

Gabi was curious when she got up and followed her mother to the desktop computer in the study. Emilia logged into her account and went to a video file. “What’s that, mom?” 

“Bertholdt and Reiner missed your first birthday. Bertholdt’s job took them to a conference in another city. But they videochatted with you, and your father recorded the call.” Gabi stood by her mother and watched whenever she pressed the play button. 

  


Gabi laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling. She’d been feeling down since she and her boyfriend broke up. Of course her parents and her brother loved her, but sometimes she felt like nobody loved her besides them. 

She sighed and opened up the videos on her phone, scrolling up and finding the one she’d had her mom send to her years ago. Gabi wasn’t sure exactly why, but when she watched it she felt like she was getting a nice hug. 

“Hey! There’s our sweet little cuddle bug!” Both the men on the screen smiled wide and waved at her. “How old’s our little pudding cup?” Bertholdt rolled his eyes and the affectionate words coming from Reiner, but he still had a smile on his face. 

Gabi smiled at the video and mouthed along with her mother. “One! Can you say one, Gabi?” Baby Gabi cooed on the camera, then put her tiny hand in her mouth. “Gabi made a big mess with the cupcake we fed her earlier. She had icing going all the way up her nose.” 

“Sounds like Gabi’s a messy eater. She’s growing up to be like her cousin.” Reiner elbowed Bertholdt, then rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not a messy eater! Besides, it doesn’t matter if Gabi’s a messy eater. Look how cute she is. I’ll bet she looked like a little angel with the icing on her nose.” Emilia shrugged, then nodded and laughed along with her nephew. “Hey Gabi, guess what?” 

Emilia tapped the computer screen to draw Gabi’s attention towards the camera so she was looking at Bertholdt and Reiner. 

“Hey, Gabi, who’s that? Is that Bertl and Reiner?” Gabi smiled at the camera, and Bertholdt clutched his chest affectionately when she cooed and laughed. 

“Reiner and I have some special presents for you. Who wants a stuffed bookworm?” Gabi reached her hands out at the camera and cooed. “I can’t wait to see you again. My little sweetheart.” 

Reiner and Bertholdt went back and forth with her mother for a few minutes, but Gabi smiled when she knew what was coming next. She’d watched the video on her phone dozens of times before. 

“Hey, we need to head on out soon. We’re going to be back in town in a few days.” Reiner leaned forward and kissed the camera. “That’s the best I can do right now. I love you, Gabi! My little pudding cup. I’ll see you soon, don’t grow too much before I get back!” 

“I love you too, Gabi. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart. I can’t wait to see you.” Bertholdt didn’t kiss the camera like his boyfriend did. 

“Say bye, Gabi!” Emilia said, her moving to take Gabi’s hand and wave it at her cousins. “Bye, Reiner! Bye, Bertl! We’ll see you soon, okay?” 

“Definitely. We love you, Gabi! See you soon!” Reiner and Bertholdt waved until the video cut out. 

Gabi smiled at her phone screen. Bertholdt and Reiner were long gone... but it was okay. Because they loved her, and she loved them too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been a long time since I've written for this fic. I've been working on some other things.   
> I'm planning on going back and rewriting some of the older chapters because I feel like my writing has improved a lot since I started this fic, and I'm hoping to start updating this a little more going forward. This AU is still near and dear to my heart.   
> I plan on writing some old requests for this fic too, so keep an eye out. :)


	39. Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabi is 4, Bertholdt is 26

Gabi’s eyes squeezed tightly shut, her unable to stop shivering underneath the covers on her bed. She pulled Pock tightly against her chest and held him in an attempt to feel better. The sound of the heavy rain outside didn’t bother her; she liked playing in the rain. But the cracks of thunder and the lightning lighting up outside her window made Gabi whimper in fear. 

Her cheeks felt like they were starting to get wet. And Reiner was out for the night too… was he safe out there? Was Aunt Karina safe? Gabi swallowed and started crying softly, her feeling terrified. She just wanted to feel better, she wanted to feel safe. Gabi rolled over in bed and saw that the light from the living room was still on. Would that mean Bert was still awake? 

Her throat felt dry, but she swallowed regardless and stood up. Gabi found her legs feeling shaky; her steps towards the door were wobbly, but thankfully no lightning or thunder stopped her in her tracks. She kept Pock tight against her chest when she opened her doorknob and walked down the hallway to the living room. 

Bert was awake. That was good, he could make her feel better. He was leaning back into the recliner, a glass of wine sitting on the end table and a book in his hand. A sniffle sounded through the room, Bert hearing it and immediately turning away from his book. “Gabi?” Gabi poked her head around the corner of the wall. Her face was tear-stained and red. “Oh, Gabi. What’s wrong?” Bert put his book down on the end table and crossed the room, him scooping her up. 

“I-I’m sc-scared, Bert…” Another crack of lightning sounded outside, her curling up into his chest in an attempt to hide. She heard Bert starting to shush her, him carrying her over to the couch. He sat down and ran a hand up and down her back while she shivered into him. Gabi cried, but Bert kept holding her. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here.” Bert kissed the top of her head, and Gabi couldn’t help but feel a little bit better. Until another crack of thunder scared her and made her curl into his chest even more. She was nearly curled into a ball. “You’re okay, Gabi. You’re going to be safe, okay?” 

“W-what about Reiner?” Gabi asked, her eyes full of tears while she looked at him. Bert stroked her cheeks with his hand and wiped her tears away. 

“Reiner is going to be fine, sweetheart. He’s just staying with Aunt Karina tonight at the doctor. Aunt Karina is going to come stay over for a couple of nights soon, won’t that be fun?” The heavy rain was soothing enough. It made Bertholdt want to curl up in bed and sleep, even though it was having the opposite effect on his daughter. 

The cracks of lightning and thunder kept Gabi shivering in his arms. Bertholdt thought for a minute, then stood up. Gabi looked up at him while he carried her to the kitchen. He sat cross-legged on the floor and had Gabi sit in front of her. 

“I know the thunder is loud and it’s scaring you, but I promise it isn’t going to hurt you. You’re going to be just fine.” Bertholdt grabbed a couple of pots and handed them to Gabi. “It’s just loud, I promise. Hit the pots together really hard for me.” 

Gabi did as asked, smacking the pots together. She recoiled at the sound, her dropping the pots in surprise. “Uh…” 

“See? That was loud. But you’re just fine, and so am I.” Bertholdt reached his hand forward and stroked her cheek. “Want to do it again?” Gabi picked the pots up and hit them together again. She didn’t recoil that time, her knowing what to expect. 

A crack of thunder sounded again, Gabi starting to curl up again. Bertholdt leaned forward and pulled her closer to him again. “I’m scared, Bert…” 

“It’s okay to be scared, Gabi. I’ll keep you safe.” Bert said, him swaying her back and forth in his lap. “Just remember the thunder is just like hitting the pots together. It’s loud, but it won’t hurt you.” Gabi nodded, her closing her eyes and snuggling into him. 

“I’m tired, Bert…” Gabi mumbled, him laughing softly at that. He kept Gabi against him while he stoof, him carrying her to his bedroom. Bertholdt put her down on the end of his bed. Gabi tiredly watched Bertholdt get his pajamas. He changed in his bathroom quickly then came back out. 

“You can sleep with me tonight, sweetheart. Let’s get under the covers, okay?” Bert pulled the covers of the bed back, Gabi sliding in next to him. Bertholdt got in after her, him pulling the covers up. Thunder cracked outside again, but Gabi didn’t recoil. 

“Are you going to sleep funny again?” Bertholdt closed his eyes and hummed in acknowledgement of her question. Gabi scooted closer to him and let Bertholdt pull her against him. “You aren’t going to push me out are you?” 

“No. You’ll be just fine. You'll stay right here with me.” Gabi yawned and nuzzled against Bertholdt’s chest, her feeling warm and cozy against him. He ran a hand up and down her back while she drifted off. “Good night, my darling. I love you.” 

Bertholdt didn’t get a response, but Gabi’s steady breathing was enough of an answer for him. 


	40. Affair (au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a request for a more sad, angsty chapter. I don't think Bertholdt or Reiner either would cheat so this is far into AU territory.
> 
> I'm trying to move away from the story being one massive cohesive thing, instead I was wanting each chapter more separate without too much continuity. I'll figure out and just keep writing as one-shots. :)
> 
> Bert is 25/27, Reiner is 26/28, Gabi is 3/5

It was like being addicted to the worst drug in the world. 

And it all started accidentally. Bertholdt would never willingly destroy his own life just for some stupid instant gratification, he’d thought. But Reiner was always so busy, he took care of Gabi all day and was absolutely exhausted whenever Bertholdt finally made his way home. Reiner wasn’t as affectionate as he’d wanted. He wanted to sleep all the time. Sometimes it felt like Reiner was a roommate and they were just co-parenting. 

Reiner kept saying it was temporary. When Gabi started school it’d be so much better. He’d have time to rest and start working again, they’d have more money and they could go on date nights again. 

But then that handsome stranger started coming to the library every single day. Samuel had been his name. They’d shared an interest in cryptids, and they quickly formed a friendship. Bertholdt would tell him about how one day he’d wanted to go on an excursion to find the Marleyan Moth, and Samuel would tell him about giant humans supposedly lived in the Forest of Giant Trees in southern Paradis. Reiner would listen to him with a smile on his face when Bertholdt talked about his cryptids, but Samuel actually engaged him in conversation. Knew the ins and outs of his interest. 

It turned into a sex thing so fast Bertholdt wasn’t even sure what happened. But he distinctly remembered pulling out of someone besides Reiner and taking off a condom for the first time in what had to be years. Bertholdt wanted to vomit as soon as he’d realized what he’d done. He’d never felt lower than when he’d gone home that night and Reiner greeted him with a smile on his face, then kissed both cheeks and his nose. 

“You’ve been stressed out. I’m sorry things have been hard lately. I made your favorite for you.” Beef stew and au gratin potatoes. He’d even baked cookies, and “Chef Gabi” had helped him out as best a three-year-old could. Reiner was obviously tired, but he was still making an effort. 

Bertholdt felt so guilty he couldn’t even get it up when Reiner wanted to make love. “I’m just tired.” He’d lied. But really, he just felt guilty and the soul-crushing feeling meant he couldn’t get aroused at all. Bertholdt had cried, and kept saying sorry, but Reiner assured him it was fine and didn’t understand why Bertholdt wouldn’t stop crying. 

But then the next day came and Bertholdt fucked Samuel in the backseat of his car while on his lunch break from work. Then the next day, they went to Samuel’s house and went even further. Every day Bertholdt would bawl his eyes out in his car, then drive home to Reiner. 

“I love you.” That was when Bertholdt knew it had to end. He never loved Samuel. He was just an easy lay because Reiner was too tired and they weren’t having sex at home much anymore. But lately Samuel had started kissing him when they had sex, and as much as Bertholdt didn’t like it he let it happen. “I think ever since I found someone who would talk about cryptids with me.” 

“What!?” Bertholdt backed away and started putting on his clothes immediately after that. They’d gone to Samuel’s house. It was his day off work, his day to spend with Reiner and Gabi, but Bertholdt had lied and said he’d needed to take care of something for work. “Samuel, this… this isn’t a relationship…” 

“What…? I don’t understand, Bertholdt, every time we make love-” Bertholdt shook his head and finished putting on his clothes. 

“Samuel, I don’t love you. I love Reiner. I’ve never made love to you.” Bertholdt ran a hand through his hair. This had to stop. He had to go back and make it up to Reiner for the rest of his life. “This is over. We can’t keep doing this. Reiner doesn’t deserve this. You don’t deserve this. I… I…” He didn’t even know what he wanted to say whenever he ran out of the house and went to his car. Bertholdt pulled out and drove somewhere to park and gather his thoughts. 

Maybe he could get a new job somewhere… if Reiner asked why, he could say that there were issues with his new boss. He needed to stop lying to Reiner, but Reiner couldn’t know about Samuel. Bertholdt checked his phone and saw a bunch of texts from Samuel. If he left he’d let Reiner know everything. 

But Samuel never had a spine. Bertholdt shook his head and made his way home. Reiner was sitting on the couch with tear-stained cheeks and red eyes. He looked up at Bertholdt and immediately burst into tears. 

“How could you? Why? What did I do wrong? Do you not love me anymore? Am I not enough? I’m sorry I spent so much time with Gabi, I didn’t want you stressed out. I thought everything was fine. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough a husband.” Every time Reiner spoke it shattered his heart. Bertholdt kept pleading for Reiner to listen, but Reiner just kept crying and freaking out. 

Eventually Reiner just stormed out of the house and left. After a few minutes Karina stopped by to collect Gabi, and she wouldn’t even look at Bertholdt. He swallowed and shook his head, then cried when Gabi asked him what was wrong. 

Reiner went no contact, except for texting Bertholdt practically begging him to have Samuel stop messaging him details of the affair. 

It didn’t take long at all for the divorce papers to come in the mail. Bertholdt went to Karina’s house and begged Reiner to let him in so they could talk, but Reiner only told him to go talk with Samuel if he needed someone. His words had been spat with such venom that Bertholdt wondered if Reiner even still liked him at all. 

He still loved Reiner with all his heart. But he cried his eyes out while he signed the papers, hired the lawyers, arranged a custody agreement, and decided what to do with the mortgage. In the end he kept the house and would continue paying the mortgage. Reiner moved out a few days after he’d learned of the affair. 

Bertholdt kept the house and Reiner moved back in with Karina. He got Gabi on the weekends and Reiner kept her during the week. Even though he saw Reiner twice a week to get Gabi for the weekend and to give her back, Reiner said very little. The most conversation there would be was idle chat on Gabi growing up. 

“I love you, Reiner.” Every single time he saw Reiner, Bertholdt made sure to remind him. The first few times Reiner had looked absolutely furious, but eventually it faded into sorrow. But every time, Bertholdt would tell him how he felt. 

“Reiner introduced me to his boyfriend the other day.” Gabi had said matter-of-factly one weekend. “He’s nice.” Bertholdt’s heart shattered at that, because he still loved Reiner and wanted him back. Reiner was moving on, it seemed. 

A few months later Gabi had told him that Reiner’s boyfriend and him broke up. Bertholdt just felt numb. 

“I love you, Reiner.” It was nighttime this time, and Bertholdt was dropping Gabi off again. Reiner was sitting on the bench in his mother’s garden. In two days Gabi would be starting kindergarten, so he and Reiner both were going to take her to school for her first day. 

Reiner sighed and shook his head, then ran a hand through his hair. It’d been almost a year and a half since the affair and the start of divorce proceedings. Bertholdt cautiously made his way to Reiner, then sat down next to him on the bench. Reiner glanced over at his ex-husband then back to the grass. 

“Gabi’s growing up so fast. Already starting school…” Reiner’s voice sounded like there was pain in it. They sat in silence for a moment, then upon looking again Bertholdt saw tears on Reiner’s cheeks. He swallowed and carefully ran a hand along Reiner’s face, wiping away the tears. “Why do you say you love me every time you see me, Bertholdt?” 

Bertholdt. When they were married, Reiner usually called him Bertl. He hadn’t heard the nickname since the day Reiner learned of the affair. Bertholdt stared at the ground and folded his hands together. “Because I love you.” The air was still. Karina was putting Gabi to sleep inside, surely. It was warm outside, and the sky was clear. “I always have. I never stopped. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you… and I don’t think I ever will.” 

“If you loved me, then why… why…” Reiner started shivering and put his face in his hands. “I don’t understand what I did wrong…” 

“You never did anything wrong.” Bertholdt put his hands on Reiner’s shoulders and turned his ex-husband to meet his eyes. “I was a fool. I had a beautiful home, a perfect husband and a sweet daughter waiting for me every single day.” Bertholdt felt his eyes starting to burn, then he sniffled. “Every day I wake up to that empty house and I see your side of the bed empty. Gabi’s room stays empty. And I have nobody to blame but myself. I want to take it all back. But I can’t.” 

Reiner frowned and looked away from Bertholdt, his gaze fixing on nothing in particular. The warm air started blowing, and Bertholdt wasn’t sure what sorts of emotions were stirring within him. “I still love you, too. I wish I didn’t.” Bertholdt felt his heart be ground to dust at that, and he felt like his stomach had been punched. “I love you so much and it’d be so much easier to move on and forget you if I didn’t. I left my last boyfriend because I still love you.” 

“Let me have another chance, Reiner.” Bertholdt said hopefully, him grasping both of Reiner’s hands into his own. Reiner’s eyes went wide, but he responded by pulling his hands away. Bertholdt had been hoping for an affectionate squeeze. “I want to spend my life with you. I love you more than life itself. Having you and Gabi back in our home. We… we were so excited to build our lives together, remember?” 

Reiner was silent. He stood and shook his head. “Bertholdt. Please don’t. Not now.” 

Bertholdt was absolutely silent, then nodded his head even while his heart collapsed inside of him. The two of them stood, then walked to Bertholdt’s car together. “Gabi starts kindergarten not tomorrow but the next morning. You can meet me here.” 

“Okay. Reiner… I love you.” Bertholdt put his hand on Reiner’s cheek and stroked it gently for a moment before Reiner turned away and walked to the door of his mother’s home. 

“…I love you too.” The words were quiet and soft. For some reason, Bertholdt wasn’t sure if he’d have rather Reiner just have not said anything. 

  


“Gabi looked so excited with her balloon.” Reiner laughed to himself and ate his sandwich. He and Bertholdt were eating lunch after dropping Gabi off for her first day of school. She’d been talking about how excited she was to be a big girl and finally go to school, but whenever Reiner and Bertholdt started to leave she’d started crying and begging to not be left alone. 

Lots of kids did that and tried to cling to their parents. They wouldn’t tell Gabi but she looked pretty cute. 

“She did. I’m so proud of her. I can’t wait for her to come to my house this weekend and tell me all about her first days of school…” Bertholdt trailed off and met Reiner’s eyes. How badly he wanted Reiner to come home with him. And Gabi would come home from school, they’d all eat dinner around the table together like a happy family. 

Reiner’s eyes seemed vacant too. He seemed like he was longing for something. They settled into a silence while they ate. After they finished the two of them went back out to Reiner’s car and sat next to one another. Reiner turned the car on and turned on the air conditioning. 

“I love you, Reiner.” Reiner hummed and acknowledged Bertholdt’s words. He turned to look at Bertholdt, then blinked and looked at the steering wheel. 

“I love you too, Bertholdt.” Reiner took a sip from his drink and looked at his ex-husband seriously. “You said you never stopped loving me. I never did either. If I didn’t love you… it wouldn’t have hurt so badly. I felt like you didn’t care that I loved you as much as I did. …As I do, I guess.” 

“I’ve been apologizing for almost two years, Reiner. But if it takes me apologizing for one hundred more years for you to know I mean it, I’ll tell you.” Bertholdt reached over and took one of Reiner’s hands into his own, then squeezed it. “I want to be a family again. I miss seeing you by my side in the morning. I miss watching you kissing Gabi’s cheeks. God, I just miss you so much.” Bertholdt brought the hand to his face and kissed it. 

Reiner’s skin was always warm. Suddenly Bertholdt remembered how comforting Reiner’s touch really was. He wanted to cuddle Reiner so badly. After a few minutes, Reiner started the car and drove Bertholdt back to his house. Reiner turned the car off and looked at Bertholdt. “…Can I come in, Bertl?” 

Bertl. He didn’t realize how much he’d missed it. He nodded shakily and got out, then went to unlock the front door to their house. 

Oh, he had to catch himself. It was just his house now. Reiner and Gabi moved out a long time ago. Reiner looked around whenever he went in, then glanced back at his ex-husband. “It looks just like it did when I moved out…” 

“I haven’t moved any of the furniture.” Reiner hummed and walked around the once-familiar room. Pictures from their wedding still hung on the walls. “I left the pictures. Remembering how things used to be makes me happy.” 

Reiner took a wedding picture off the wall and looked at it. They had Gabi between them and each of them were kissing one of her cheeks. A smile crossed his face, him touching the glass of the frame tenderly. “Look at us. And our girl.” 

“That was the happiest day of my life.” Bertholdt said, standing next to Reiner and looking at the frame. “You and me, and our girl. It was like a dream.” 

“Yes. It was like a dream.” Reiner put the picture back and sat down on the couch. He squeaked in surprise, him having forgotten how soft it was. His mother’s couch was so firm in comparison. “I missed our home.” 

“I’ve missed you. I’ve left all your things here just in case. Your books and reading glasses are still in your nightstand.” Reiner gave Bertholdt a tired smile and leaned back. Bertholdt sat down next to him and put an arm around Reiner. To his surprise, Reiner leaned into the touch and rested his head on Bertholdt’s shoulder. “You’re always welcome here, Reiner. No matter what.” 

“Thank you, Bertholdt.” Reiner was silent for a moment. “I do love you.” Bertholdt squeezed Reiner and turned to pull him into a hug. Reiner buried his nose into Bertholdt’s shoulder and breathed in deeply while Bertholdt ran his hands up and down his backside. 

“Will you lay with me, Reiner?” Bertholdt asked after a minute. Reiner was silent, then nodded. The two of them went to their old bedroom, the two of them laying side-by-side in their former marital bed. Reiner closed his eyes and hugged Bertholdt. 

“I forgot what being in bed like this felt like…” Reiner chewed his lower lip while Bertholdt stroked his hair. “What are we even doing right now?” 

“I don’t know.” Bertholdt swallowed and pressed his forehead to Reiner’s. “I know you would say no if I asked you to marry me again right now. But I want to.” A hand moved to stroked Reiner’s cheek. “I want to get remarried. I want you and Gabi living here with me. I want to be a family with the love of my life.” 

“Love of your life? Is that what I am to you?” Reiner asked, getting a nod in return. Bertholdt’s eyes became misty. “You’re right, Bertholdt… if you proposed to me right now I would say no.” Reiner was quiet, then squeezed Bertholdt’s shoulders. “I want to be a family again, too. I still love you. Maybe… we can get counseling. And try to work through everything.” 

“God, Reiner, I… I know you’ll never forget. But if you can forgive me, and forgive me for being a fool, I’ll love you until I die. And even after that. I promise.” 

“You promise?” Reiner asked, his voice vulnerable. Bertholdt nodded, then sniffled. Reiner sighed and sniffled himself. Which made Bertholdt cry, which made Reiner cry. The two of them clung to one another and cried for what felt like forever. 

“Reiner?” Bertholdt asked after a while. “Can you spend the night with me? …And Gabi, too? I can make you dinner, we can take her to school. We can tell her a bedtime story like we used to. I just… I want my family back. Please?” 

Reiner was quiet. “Yes… Gabi and I can stay over. I want to be a family again too. Someday.” 

“After we go to counseling… after we get things sorted out, after you decide you want to, I’m going to make you my husband again.” Bertholdt pulled Reiner close and pecked his lips. Two years without a kiss from the love of his life drove him wild. 

It’d be a while before Reiner was going to be okay with the possibility of making love again. But that was okay. 

Reiner let Bertholdt cuddle him, the two of them reminiscing Gabi’s early youth and their hopes for her future. The familiar feeling of the other’s arms in bed lulled them both to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This chapter was very hard to write because I hate infidelity but it can make for an interesting plot point. I had said before I would never write infidelity but here we are. Again, this is not canon at all hehe.
> 
> I would like to write a happier chapter soon! I am tired, though. ^^;


	41. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, posting a Christmas chapter on Thanksgiving.  
> I got a request from whiteasy on twitter for Gabi + Reibert christmas. I lost the original request so I hope this is okay!

They'd waited until she was three to start putting up a Christmas tree during the holiday season, because lord knows that Gabi would've absolutely wrecked the tree when she was two. And not that either of them really advocated lying to their daughter, but she believed them when they both told her that there had always been a tree every year. Now that she was five, it was safe to go all-out with the Christmas tree decorating. 

Bertholdt would never admit it, but it was a personal goal of his to put Karina's Christmas tree to shame. He could never hope to compete with her Christmas village setup, but his tree was fantastic. The ornaments, garland, lights, the little train he had that went in circles around the base... the Christmas tree was his baby. Yes, Gabi was his baby. But his tree was his other baby. He put tons of work into it, and he even shooed Reiner away just so he could be absolutely sure the tree was perfect. 

"It's beautiful as always, Bertl." Gabi was still asleep. They'd gotten up in the middle of the night so they could start decorating for Christmas before Gabi woke up. She would break their lights and might shatter ornaments. Not that the ornaments couldn't be replaced, but they couldn't bear the thought of their sweetheart getting cut or hurt. There were some stuffed snowmen and other knickknacks they'd let her put around the house so she wouldn't feel left out. "You have an eye for decorating." 

"Hmm. Thank you, Reiner. I hope Gabi doesn't try and play with the little train too much. She might break it." Reiner shook his head and chuckled. Gabi would definitely break it but he'd let Bertholdt be in denial a little bit longer. Reiner leaned over and put his head on Bertholdt's shoulder. "Tonight we can put together the gingerbread house and I'll take Gabi into the bedroom so she can wrap your present." 

"Aww, my Bertl and my Gabi got me a present." Reiner dragged Bertholdt to the couch and sat down with him, then admired all of the Christmas lights. "I have your present under my side of the bed so don't clean there until Gabi and I wrap it up, okay?" 

"That's fine. She'll be so excited. We need to wrap all of her gifts in the closet. Maybe we should've done that before we put up the tree?" Bertholdt scratched his chin, then shook his head. "No, I think it's better this way... that way she can see the presents get put under the tree." 

"I thought that woman was going to give me a black eye when she punched me trying to get that toy from me... I wasn't a star football player for nothing, though!" Reiner had spent years making sure athletic men couldn't take away the football. He'd be damned if some random woman was going to take away the hottest toy of the season, a talking unicorn that Gabi had set her heart on, away from him. Even when she'd hit him he made his way through the crowd so his girl would open the wrapping paper on Christmas morning and have what she really wanted. "Oh, Bertl. I love her. I haven't looked forward to Christmas in years but having her excited makes me giddy." 

A few minutes later, a starry-eyed Gabi made her way into the living room. Her hair was a mess, but she seemed to have other things on her mind. "Bert! Reiner! It's almost Christmas!" Gabi climbed onto the couch and sat on Reiner's lap. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then hummed. "But there aren't any presents under the tree?" 

"Santa will bring a bunch of them on Christmas Eve, sweetheart. And me and Reiner haven't put our presents under yet." Gabi seemed to accept that answer, then hopped up and went to the tree. "Hey, now, Gabi... that train isn't a toy, sweetheart!" 

"We should make a little tunnel!" Gabi seemed like she wanted to reach for the train, but she turned and saw Bert watching her. She pulled her hand back and looked at him innocently. It was a chore for him to keep her away from the train but eventually, she seemed to let it go. 

Later in the night, while Gabi was busy ruining the gingerbread house kit that Bertholdt was trying to put together with her, Reiner was able to slip away and put the gingerbread men into the oven. Gabi perked up when she noticed the smell, and Bertholdt took the opportunity to repair the roof of the house while she was distracted. She ate all the gumdrops that were supposed to decorate the house. 

"Reiner! When can we decorate them?" Gabi said excitedly while he pulled the cookie out of the oven. He put the pan down and started to move the cookies to the plate. "I want to make a gingerbread me!" 

"Just a few minutes, sweetie. They need to cool so the icing doesn't melt off of them." Bertholdt smiled in satisfaction once he was able to get the house finished while Gabi was distracted. The roof was missing most of the candy that went on top, but it was fine. Gabi had fun. He put the little candy cane trees by the house when Gabi came back. 

"Bert! Let's make our gingerbread people!" Bertholdt gently stroked her hair, then moved the gingerbread house to where it would be displayed in their living room. They'd eat it together on Christmas. "I want to make me!" 

"Oh yeah? I think I'll make a gingerbread Reiner, then." Bertholdt sat at the table and accepted the icing whenever Reiner gave them their small pipettes. "Look, I'll even give him a little icing beard and hair..." Bertholdt focused on making the little gingerbread man of his husband while Gabi made a crude version of herself. 

"Aww, look. We made a little gingerbread family. We can put them with the house you two built for them." Reiner said affectionately. he'd started making a little ginger-Bert when he saw that Bertholdt was making him. He even gave ginger-Bert an icing sweater. "We have plenty more cookies to decorate and eat tonight, let's just put those ones off to the side for now." 

"Yay! I want to make another!" Gabi grabbed another cookie and started on another gingerbread person with green hair. Reiner chuckled and started nibbling on an undecorated cookie while Bertholdt focused intensely on making another dapper gingerperson. 

  


She couldn't help not being able to sleep! It was Christmas Eve, and Santa was going to be visiting tonight! She'd gotten up earlier to see if the presents were under the tree yet, but all she saw was Bert and Reiner kissing underneath the mistletoe they'd put on the doorway. She didn't care because there weren't any presents. They'd left out some milk and cookies for whenever Santa came to visit later. 

They made chocolate chip, because Santa and Reiner had the same favorite cookie! Gabi fidgeted and looked at the little clock on her nightstand. It was really late! She got up as quietly as she could and grabbed Pock, then slowly made her way to the living room. When she got there, her eyes went wide and her mouth set into a huge smile. "Santa!" 

Santa turned around and gave her a huge smile. Gabi ran over to him and noticed that the cookies and milk were gone. "Ho ho ho! I heard you've been a good girl this year, Gabi!" 

"I was! I was a really good girl!" Gabi reached her arms out whenever Santa reached his out, her letting him scoop her up and hold her. "I was really nice, I promise!" Gabi leaned against Santa's chest and closed her eyes while his gloved hands ran through her hair. 

"I know you were. Bert and Reiner wrote me a special letter telling me how good you were." Santa put Gabi down, then reached into the small bag he had. "Promise me you'll be a good girl next year, too?" Gabi nodded excitedly and hugged Santa's leg. He laughed and leaned down to kiss her cheek, and his beard tickled her. 

"Did you like the cookies, Santa?" Gabi asked, and Santa chuckled softly before he nodded. Gabi felt happiness inside her that Santa liked her treats for him. "I made them special! Bert and Reiner helped me!" 

"You did a really good job. I could tell you put lots of love in for me." Santa got down on his knee and pulled his glasses down his nose. He had the same eye color as Reiner! Gabi smiled and thought that was neat. "Go ahead and go to sleep, Gabi. You need rest so you can open your presents in the morning, okay?" 

"Okay!" Gabi started to walk back towards her room, then turned back around and looked at Santa. "Santa?" He gave her a smile and raised his brows, waiting for her to continue. "Good night!" 

"Good night, Gabi. Maybe I'll see you next year. Be a good girl until then, okay?" Gabi yawned and nodded, then returned to her room. Santa grabbed his bag, and as soon as the coast was clear made his way to Bert and Reiner's bedroom. He closed the door behind him, then took off his hat. 

"I heard. She saw you when you went out to put her presents under the tree." Bertholdt chuckled while Reiner started to take off the beard and glasses, along with the bushy white eyebrows. Reiner laughed softly and nodded. 

"And you thought I was silly wanting to put on the Santa costume." Reiner finished taking off the costume and hid it inside the closet. "I remember a long time ago, my mom dressed up like Santa for me when I was a kid. I saw her when I got up at night. I was sure it was Santa at the time, and I was so happy. It's one of my favorite memories." Reiner leaned back into the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hope Gabi remembers that. I know I will." 

"I'm sure she will. Come here, Santa. Let's get some sleep before Gabi comes in here in the morning and starts pestering us to get up." Reiner hummed and agreed, him crawling into bed with his husband. Bertholdt snuggled into him, and they both had happy dreams about Gabi opening her presents happily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated a LOT if I wanted Santa to be real or if Reiner was going to be Santa. I went with Reiner, I imagine he stuffed a pillow into his stomach to make him have a belly <3

**Author's Note:**

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